Pokemon Reborn: A new journey
by The Godfeather
Summary: The Reborn region is a place that is notorious for its challenging league. How will Vladimir respond to the challenge that has presented itself to him? Rated M for Violence, Language and Lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**AU: Ok guys this is SovietRussiaMan here and for my first fanfiction, I decided to base it off of the Fangame Pokémon Reborn. The game is a lot harder than the regular Pokémon games, the story while dark, has a lot more meat to it and the characters are very memorable.**

 **This story is rated M for Violence, Language and Lemons.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Reborn or its characters, they are the property of its creator Amethyst. I only own my OCs.**

 **Chapter 1: The start of things to come.**

Vladimir was waiting at the train station for the train to Reborn, to meet up with a friend of his, Natasha. What most people don't know was that they were some of Russia's finest trainers and have won a couple of Pokémon League Championships each. They decided to take on the Reborn League to see who the better of the two was. The duo decided to go their separate ways and promised to catch up with each other later in their journey. Vladimir was an 18 year old Russian Caucasian, who had short, black hair with brown eyes. His outfit was a black tracksuit jacket with matching tracksuit pants. He wore a white vest under his jacket and had white sneakers.

He had finished filling out his form to participate in the Reborn League. He had heard that it was a lot harder than the other leagues, as the gym leaders carried a full team of six Pokémon. He decided to not bring any of his other Pokémon, in order to challenge himself further. According to the form he had signed out, he was supposed to meet the regions local professor on the train, where they can sort out any issues with the form.

It took 15 minutes for the train to arrive. He then boarded the train to look for the professor. As he entered the third cabin to the front, a hand gestured to him. He then walked to where the hand was gesturing him to and took a seat. He turned to the person who was gesturing him, only to have his eyes widen in surprise.

There, in front of him was a beautiful young lady, wearing a black and white sleeveless top and black jeans as well as a pair of black boots and a black scarf. She had gorgeous, shoulder length white hair and bright blue eyes. She then turned to Vladimir and smile at him, causing him to develop a faint blush.

"You must be Vladimir. My name is Ame, it's a pleasure to meet you." She greeted him.

"Th-th-the pleasure is all mine Professor." Vladimir managed to get out, which caused her to chuckle sightly.

"I assume you're here to take on the Reborn League challenge." She asked him. Vladimir nodded to her statement.

"From the look of things, you appear to have entered a couple of other Leagues." Ame told him, much to Vladimir's shock. "I must warn you, the Reborn League is the toughest out there, with even some of the best Pokémon Masters struggling with some of the gyms." She continued. The train was getting closer to its destination, as the two were sorting out minor details.

"Well, looks like we're here. Now I'll escort you to the Opal ward where we will…" Amethyst started but then suddenly stopped.

"Say… did you hear a ticking noise?" She asked Vladimir. Vladimir had no idea what she was talking about until a loud explosion rocked the train as it arrived at the station.

 **Peridot Station, Reborn.**

"Vlad…Vladimir, can you hear me?" Ame asked as she shook his unconscious body. The explosion devastated the train station, debris strewn everywhere, as if there was a massive party, but with concrete and bricks instead of confetti. Vladimir had just woken up, only to take in the chaos with his eyes. The station was consumed by a raging inferno, burning up all of the train's fuel. All around him, he heard the cries of the injured and the ones who had lost loved ones. One particular heart-wrenching scene was with a little girl, shaking her mother to wake her up, not realising that she would never wake. Ame managed to get Vladimir off the ground and out of the station.

"Are you ok?" she asked him once they were out of the station. He gave a weak nod to signify that he was alright. He scanned the area, witnessing the carnage that the explosion had caused. Firefighters were desperately trying to put out the blaze while others were rushing in the building to search for survivors. Vladimir was wondering about what kind of cruel sadist would blow up a train station.

"Heeyyy there, Ame." A voice called out. Vladimir turned to the source of the voice, only to find a cute girl in her early 20s who had long, green hair in a ponytail, with matching coloured eyes. She wore what appeared to be a cheerleader's uniform coloured yellow as well as a pair of yellow boots. She then ran up to Ame, who was busy brushing the dirt off of her outfit.

"Julia…What the hell did you do this time?!" Ame scolded her. Vladimir was startled, he didn't think that such a sweet young girl like Julia would have played a role in the bombing.

"I didn't do anything. I was just chilling out in my gym with a cup of coffee when I heard this massive BOOM! I rushed outside to see where it came from, and then I noticed you with this strange young man." Julia quickly told Ame. Vladimir breathed a sigh of relief that she was not the perpetrator.

"Well anyways, I have to go to the Administrative building in the Opal ward. Catch you there, Vladimir." Ame said as she winked at him before running off, causing him to develop a small blush.

"Umm, you ok there?" Julia asked Vladimir, snapping him out of his daze.

"Yes, ma'am." He replied to her, unaware that she picked up something off the ground.

"I think you dropped this, Vladdie." Julia said as she handed him a Potion. Vladimir looked at it in bafflement before accepting the item.

"So are you taking the Reborn League challenge?" she asked him, with him nodding to the question. "Good, we will get to meet each other again seeing as how I am the Electric type Gym Leader. In fact, my gym in in the Peridot ward, it's in that direction over there." She continued as she pointed North-East of their current position.

"Well, it's nice meeting you. Catch you later." Julia said as she ran off to the closest police officer to get information regarding the attack. Vladimir then headed east to the Opal ward, taking in his surroundings. A majority of the buildings were either in ruins or had cracks in them. The water was a vile brown and riddled with garbage and debris and the factories were constantly running, generating a lot of noise. The city itself was also massive to the point where Vladimir was wondering if he would be able to find the way out. Along the way, he took note of the survivors, which included a bulky man that was wondering about how he would be able to go home, as well as a girl in her late teens, distraught over the loss of her fiancée. Vladimir shook his head in despair as he made his way to the Administrative building.

 **Administrative Building of Reborn, Opal ward**

Vladimir had entered the building and went up to the receptionist. He explained his reason for being here and was told to wait in the common area until Ame was ready. He then sat down and decided to take in the atmosphere. The area was quite large, with a high amount of people in there doing various things be it watching TV, buying supplies for their own Pokémon journey or assisting the staff in caring for the people injured by the explosion. Some of the other people politely waved at him while others just glared at him for reasons unknown. Eventually the receptionist called out for Vladimir, who sighed as he got up.

"Sorry I took a while, I was just told that the police may have found the person responsible for the bombing." Ame called out as Vladimir was walking over to her.

"It's nice to see you again." He said, as a faint blush developed on his cheeks.

"Now if you would kindly follow me, I will allow you to pick your starter Pokémon." Ame said as she escorted Vladimir upstairs. When then entered the room, Vladimir looked around the room and saw three different coloured tables, coloured green, red and blue in that order from the closest to the most far from his position. Each table had six red and white balls on it.

"As you can see her, each of the Pokémon have been sorted out according to their type. Green for Grass, red for Fire and blue for Water. Furthermore, the Pokémon are placed in the order that they were discovered. Pick wisely, as you are only allowed to take one." Ame informed the young man, who was surprised at the amount of possible choices he has. Ame then received a phone call informing her that another potential trainer has come to claim their starter.

"I got to go, someone else has come to claim their stater. I trust that you will only take a single Pokémon." Ame told Vladimir as she was walking down the stairs. It took a while for him to choose a single Pokémon, but finally decided on picking the one on the Fire table that was third from the left. He took it with him downstairs to meet up with Ame and the other trainer she was talking about. Vladimir came downstairs, only to notice Ame talking to YET another cute girl. This time, she had medium black hair, with matching eyes and was in a black furisode dress which had a Yin-Yang symbol on the right tasset.

"So you're that other person that Ame was talking about. My name's Victoria, what's yours?" she greeted.

"My name's Vladimir. It's nice to meet you." He replied as he held out his hand to shake hands with her, to which she accepted.

"So did you choose your Pokémon already?" Victoria asked. Vladimir nodded, to which she replied "Can you tell me what you chose?" Vladimir was suspicious about her question, for all he knew she could be trying to gain an advantage over him. Victoria read his facial expression and replied "I'm not seeking an advantage, I already know what I want." She then went upstairs with Amethyst to obtain her Pokémon. A little while later, a young man came up to the counter. His hair was a dark shade of purple and his eyes were brown. His choice of attire was a little strange, with a black, fishnet shirt cover by a dark purple jacket as well as a pair of matching coloured pants. He also had purple boots and wore black eyeshadow.

"Heeeyyyyy there." He called out as he started walking towards Vladimir. Unsure of how to respond, Vladimir just waved at him.

"The name's Cain, what's yours?" he introduced himself. Vladimir responded by introducing himself to Cain.

"Are you waiting for your first Pokémon Vladimir?" Cain asked. Vladimir responded by saying that he already has his Pokémon.

"Well why don't we have a little battle to test it out?" Cain challenged Vladimir, who was eager to experience his first battle in Reborn.

"Remember that I'm not going to go easy on you, just because you're a cute guy." Cain smirked, leaving Vladimir speechless. "Go Nidoran!" Cain called out, as he threw a Pokéball. Based on the dark purple hue of the quadrupedal creature, Vladimir automatically assumed it to be a male. He then threw his own Pokéball, releasing a red and orange bird.

"So you chose a Torchic? This should be good." Cain said to Vladimir, before ordering his Nidoran (M) to use Tackle on Torchic. The Tackle sent the little bird flying across the room until it collided with a wall.

"Torchic!" Vladimir called out to his new comrade. Torchic managed to get up and shot a flurry of small fireballs in retaliation to Nidoran (M)'s Tackle. The fireballs managed to make contact, as well as burn the small creature. Torchic then started to get pumped up for the battle and became quicker that before.

"No way, you got a Speed-Boost Torchic?!" Cain yelled out in surprise. Vladimir smirked at this revelation, this battle just got a lot more interesting.

"Nidoran, use Tackle a second time!" Cain called out in desperation, knowing that he was close to losing. The Tackle successfully hit, however the Nidoran (M) flinched in pain as a result of the burn.

"Finish this battle with another Ember attack!" Vladimir ordered Torchic, who willingly followed orders and managed to knock out Nidoran (M).

"Damn, you're better than I anticipated." Cain exclaimed as he handed out the prize money to Vladimir. "Now if you would follow me, I will take you to the Pokémon Centre lady." He continued as he took Vladimir's hand and escorted him to the Pokémon Centre lady.

"Hi there, do your Pokémon need healing?" she asked the duo, as they gave their Pokémon to her. After a minute of waiting, they both got their Pokémon back, only to have Amethyst and Victoria come to them and ask Cain what he was doing with Vladimir.

"Well, we went to the nurse after the two of us had some fun together." Cain answered them, only to receive a look of surprise from Victoria while Ame just giggled.

"I never knew you were like that Vladimir." She joked at him, causing Vladimir's jaw to drop in disbelief.

"Oh no, it wasn't like that. We just had a Pokémon battle." Cain quickly stated to prevent Vladimir from getting embarrassed any further.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to challenge him them." Victoria smiled as she sent out Tepig, a red and black pig.

"Torchic it's time for battle!" Vladimir called out as he threw his Pokéball, releasing his Torchic.

"Now use Growl!" he asked his Pokémon. Torchic proceeded to growl at Tepig, unnerving it a bit.

"I believe that the best move for this situation would be Tackle" Victoria called out, as Tepig rammed into Torchic, causing the little bird to be sent flying into a wall.

"Torchic!" Vladimir called out, in concern for his Pokémon. "Are you ok?" he asked Torchic, whom responded by getting up and proceeded to use Scratch on Tepig. Torchic and Tepig continued to use Scratch and Tackle respectively until Torchic emerged as the victor. After healing up the Pokémon, they went to the main counter, where they each received a Pokégear, a pair of running shoes and an official Pokémon Reborn League trainer card. Cain and Victoria then farewelled Vladimir and Ame and went about their separate ways. Vladimir on the other hand, decided to go to the local Pokémart in order to stock up on supplies. After buying everything that he needed, he went towards the door to begin exploring Reborn.

"Wait up!" Ame called out as she was running up to him. "Seeing as how I need to check out the Peridot ward for any sign of the bombers associates, I hope that you would have no problems with me accompanying you temporarily." She continued. Vladimir was surprised at her question and started to blush, but he nodded to show that he had no problem with her proposal.

"Good! Now I should warn you, some of the people in the Peridot ward are unfriendly and will not hesitate in attacking you." She told him.

"Thanks for telling me." Vladimir replied to her, as the duo exited the building, unaware of the events that will happen in the future.

 **Well that's the first chapter up of this story and I sincerely hope that you enjoy it. If there's anything that I need to improve on, than don't be hesitant in putting down a comment on how I can improve this story.**

 **Peace out everyone.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Last time in Pokémon Reborn, Vladimir had just gotten his starter, battled Cain and Victoria and is assisting Ame in investigating the local area for the bomber's allies.**

 **This story is rated M for Violence, Language and Lemons**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon Reborn, it is the property of its creator**

As Vladimir and Ame stepped outside, they witnessed a young girl begging her Snubbull to come back home with her, but it refused to obey her and decided to run off, with the girl following after it. Vladimir then turned to Ame, wondering what the problem was.

"The Pokémon of the Reborn region are different from Pokémon in other regions in that they won't obey their trainer unless that have the proper amount of badges" She explained to him. The duo then continued walking until they heard what sounded like a Pokémon in distress. They ran to where they heard the noise, only to be confronted by three thugs who were threatening to hurl an innocent Pachirisu into the murky water.

"I can't believe that those thugs would stoop so low as to threaten a Pokémon into obeying them" Vladimir muttered in disgust.

"I'll deal with those two while you take on their guard" Ame told Vladimir, as she pointed to a young lad wearing a red cap and a matching hoodie alongside brown shorts. He nodded as he went up to the goon and challenged him to a battle.

"As the official Pokémon Professor of the Reborn region, I will put a stop to anyone who dares to abuse a Pokémon." Ame told the other two thugs, as she threw a pair of Pokéballs at them.

"Go Torchic!" Vladimir called out his Pokémon, whom was raring for another battle.

"Humph, Trubbish, I choose you!" the hooligan called out his Pokémon. Trubbish was a Poison-type Pokémon that closely resembles a rubbish bag with what appeared to be two tails made of waste. "Use Pound on that wimpy Pokémon!" he ordered his Pokémon, as it charged into the Torchic before smacking it with its tails. Torchic winced in pain, as it was flung back due to the attack.

"Torchic!" Vladimir called out to his Pokémon as it got up from the ground. "Use Ember on Trubbish!" he told Torchic, whom seemed happy to obey him, as it started to get pumped up, indicating that Speed Boost had activated. Torchic then unleashed a slew of tiny fireballs from its mouth, injuring the enemy Trubbish.

"Not bad, but not enough to defeat me, use Poison Gas Trubbish!" The hooligan announced, as Trubbish spewed out a noxious purple gas. The gas reached Torchic, causing the little bird to start coughing. This concerned Vladimir as his Torchic was poisoned, forcing him to end the battle quickly or else it would faint.

"Use Ember again Torchic!" Vladimir ordered his ally, whom had stopped coughing. Torchic put all of its energy in this Ember, as it knew that it wouldn't be able to make another move after. It unleashed the Ember at the Trubbish, whom took a lot of damage from the attack. Once the attack had ended, the Trubbish fell down, indicating that it was unable to continue battling. Soon afterwards, Torchic fainted from a combination of exhaustion and the poison.

"Torchic!" Vladimir called out as he ran to his Pokémon. "Are you OK?" he asked it as Torchic cooed to indicate that it was going to be alright. He turned to Ame to see how she was going, only to witness her picking up the injured Pachirisu.

"I'd finished dealing with the imbeciles quickly, while you were battling the other one." She smiled at him. Vladimir was shocked at how quickly Ame dealt with the two, he pondered to himself about how strong her Pokémon were to be able to demolish the thugs Pokémon so quickly.

"We should bring the Pokémon back to the Pokémon centre to get healed." Ame suggested. Vladimir nodded in approval, as he returned his Torchic into its Pokéball. The duo then walked back to the ward, leaving the trio of goons shaking in their boots. Once they got back there, they handed the two Pokémon to the nurse. Suddenly, they heard a voice telling the nurse to wait for her. Vladimir turned to where the voice came from, only to come face to face with his best friend Natasha.

Natasha could only be described in one way, beautiful. She had smooth, creamy white skin which perfectly suited her silky, shoulder length, blonde hair. She also had bright blue eyes that seemed full of life and energy. As for her outfit, she wore a black jacket with a matching coloured shirt underneath as well as a black skirt that showed off her lovely legs. She also wore black, thigh high leggings and white sneakers. Ever since they first met, Vladimir had a major crush on her but didn't confess to her as he feared rejection.

"Vladimir, is that you?" she asked him as she turned to him, after giving her Pokémon to the Pokémon centre nurse. Vladimir replied by nodding his head, only to get hugged by Natasha, causing the young man to blush madly.

"It's so good to see you. I thought that you had died in the explosion." Natasha cheerfully told Vladimir. The two then let go of each other and tidied up their outfits. The two then met up with Ame and started to talk about what had happened so far in the journey. Eventually, they got their Pokémon back from the nurse.

"Mind if I see your team Natasha?" Vladimir asked her as he was rather curious about her team.

"Sure, no problem!" she replied as she took four Pokéballs off of her belt and called out her Pokémon. Her team so far consisted of a Marshtomp, an Electrike, a Whismur and a Numel.

"They all look well-trained and happy." Ame commented on Natasha's team. She then turned to Vladimir as Natasha returned her Pokémon. "I'm going to keep the Pachirisu here so we can keep a close eye on it to make sure those thugs don't attack it again." She told him.

"What are you talking about Ame?" Natasha asked her. Ame then explained to her about what went down at the Opal Bridge.

"Well, that was low of them to do that." Natasha shivered in disgust. "At least you took care of them." She continued. Vladimir nodded as he got up from his seat.

"Well I'm off to find some more Pokémon. See you later." He told the duo, as he walked out the building, leaving Ame and Natasha on their own.

"So when did you two meet?" The Reborn professor asked.

"It was a few years ago, during a tournament in Kalos. The two of us were the grand finalists, after a gruelling tournament, with 64 contestants. I still remember the moment when my Florges knocked out Vladimir's Greninja, securing me a victory." Natasha replied, a large smile on her face. "Ever since then, the two of us have been best friends."

"That's nice to hear." Ame commented. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a prisoner to interrogate." The professor then got up and walked towards a door behind the counter, leaving Natasha to relax and watch the television.

 **Peridot Ward**

Vladimir was walking through the Southern half of Peridot Ward until he came across a house that was, surprisingly, in good condition. He knocked on the door before the voice of an elderly man beckoned him to enter. Vladimir then entered the house and was confronted by the man.

"If you would like some Pokémon…" he said while handing Vladimir a bag of Pokémon treats, "Then use this. It's very popular amongst Pokémon." He continued. Vladimir thanked the old man and exited the building. While he was walking, he was thinking to himself about what other Pokémon he should have in his team. He continued walking until he came across a homeless man leaning in the alleyway.

"Care to spare some change?" he croaked, while stretching out his arm. Vladimir gave the man some spare cash that he had in his wallet.

"Much obliged." The man said gratefully, as he took the money. "A little bit of advice though, there's these two guys who live in the house near here. Just yesterday, they were carrying a sack that seemed to be squirming. I'd be careful if I were you." He continued before falling asleep. Vladimir walked over him and decided to investigate the house. He knocked on the door to see if anyone was home, but after five minutes of waiting he decided to enter the house. Upon entering the house, Vladimir scanned the area to see if there was anything useful in here. It wasn't until he scanned the north-western that he made an audible gasp. Lying in a small pool of blood, was an Espurr that had some cuts and bruises all over its body. The injured creature mewed in agony, breaking Vladimir's heart. He had to do something! He ran over to the Espurr and knelt beside it. He took out a couple of Potions and some bandages to fix up its wounds. Suddenly, the door slammed open, revealing a pair of merciless thugs, armed with a combat knife and a crowbar.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" the knife-wielder snarled at Vladimir, whom turned around and looked at the pair in disgust.

"How could you do this to an innocent Pokémon? I should report you to the authorities." Vladimir growled at them.

"Humph, looks like the little brat wants to play with the big kids. We'll make sure you have a good time while it lasts." The one with the crowbar sneered at him. The knife-wielder then charged at Vladimir, ready to flay the young Russian apart. However, since the thug had been drinking beforehand, Vladimir was able to predict his moves and dodge the attacks with ease.

"Bloody hell, just die already!" the knife-wielder roared at Vladimir, as he attempted to stab him. Vladimir then delivered a strike on the goons arm, causing him to drop the knife. Vladimir then picked up the knife and stabbed the now unarmed goon in his right eye. The thug howled in pain, as he attempted to remove the knife, only for Vladimir to smash the hilt against the wall, pushing the blade through the goon's brain and ended up killing him.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" the second thug screamed at Vladimir, charging at him in an attempt to avenge his comrade. Vladimir started to panic and attempted to free the knife from the fresh corpse that was oozing blood from its wound. Eventually, Vladimir had to abandon the plan, as the thug tried to smash his skull in with the crowbar. Vladimir then kicked the thug at his knee, causing him to kneel, giving Vladimir some more time to retrieve the knife.

"You know, once I kill you, I'm going to murder that Espurr that you seem so adamant on protecting." The injured thug taunted, however Vladimir ignored him. The thug then got up and attempted another attack, swinging his crowbar like a rabid monkey. Vladimir was able to retrieve the knife and prepared himself for the thugs attack. The two then began to swing their weapons at each other, both with the intent to kill. Eventually, Vladimir overpowered the thug and slashed the guy's throat. The thug then started to choke on his blood for a few seconds, before succumbing to death.

"I…I killed those guys." Vladimir said sadly while staring at the now bloodied knife. He knew that he acted in self-defence as there was no other way that he and the Espurr would have made it out alive. Sighing in exhaustion, he decided to finish tending to the Espurr. After the healing was done, he took out the Pokémon treats and gave some to Espurr. The Espurr sniffed them for a while before deciding to eat them.

"It's ok, you won't have to worry about those two ever again." Vladimir whispered to the hungry Pokémon, as it continued to eat the treats. After it had finished eating, the Espurr went up to Vladimir and hugged his leg.

"You want to come along with me?" He questioned the Espurr, who mewed in approval. "Alright then, let's go!" Vladimir told the Espurr as he removed a Pokéball from his belt and placed it on the ground. Espurr touched the button, entering the Pokéball. The Pokéball shook for a bit before it stopped, signifying that Vladimir had caught it. He picked up the Pokéball and attached it to his belt, thrilled that he has gotten a new comrade. He polished the knife, thinking that he may need it in case he gets attacked, retrieved its holster and attached it to his belt. He then exited the building and began to look for more Pokémon.

 **Well that was another great chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review to see if I need to improve on something.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 3.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously on Pokémon Reborn, Vladimir saved an Espurr from a pair of cruel thugs.**

 **This story is rated M for Violence, Language and Lemons.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon Reborn, it is the property of its creator.**

Vladimir had just exited the house where he met Espurr and saved it from the thugs, He stretched his arms out and left the alleyway. Along the way, he stumbled upon the homeless man, whom had guided him to the house. Vladimir nudged the man, whom then woke up and looked at him.

"If you want, you can move in to that house, I took care of the thugs." Vladimir informed the man, whom had a look of joy in his eyes.

"Really? Arceus bless you, young man. You don't know how much this means to me." The man said, as tears of joy were streaming down his face.

"I gotta warn you, you might need to clean up the place." Vladimir said, as he explained what happened in the house.

"I see…well take care of the Espurr, I'm going to clean up the place and move in." the man said while shuffling to the house. Vladimir took one last look at the house before resuming his search. He continued walking until he stumbled upon a large, yellow power plant. Vladimir decided to read the sign near the entrance.

"Neo-Circuit Power Plant-A Silph CO Service"

However, there was a message written underneath it.

"Neo-Circuit is such a LAME name! I officially re-title this place the Electro-Dazzle Happy Boom-Time House of Cheer"

Signed Cheer Captain Julia, Gym Leader of the Peridot Ward.

Vladimir sighed and continued exploring the ward. As he continued walking, he looked up at the sky, which was blocked by dark clouds. Suddenly, it started to rain. Vladimir ran around, trying to find some shelter, until a young lady in a black, knee-length dress noticed him and gestured at him to follow her. Vladimir decided to trust her and follow her into an alley.

"Thanks for your assistance there. By the way, what's your name?" Vladimir asked the lady.

"The name's Emma." She shrugged. "You better not be a two-bit thug." she continued, narrowing her eyes at Vladimir.

"I am not some thug that steals from innocent civilians." He reassured her. A small smile could be seen of Emma's face upon hearing this.

"Good, or else it wouldn't have ended up nicely for you." She said to him. The two then heard what appeared to be the cries of an injured Pokémon. The pair rushed over to where the noise came from, only to see a Tynamo that appears to be badly injured.

"Holy Shit! The poor thing's nearly dead, we need to bring this guy to a Pokémon Centre." Emma ordered Vladimir, a panicked expression appearing on her face. Vladimir picked up the Tynamo and ran to the Pokémon Centre in the Opal ward.

 **10 minutes later**

The duo ended up at the Pokémon Centre and ran up to the nurse.

"Oh my! What happened to this poor thing?" the nurse asked the pair.

"We found her lying on the ground, severely injured." Vladimir told her, as she took the Pokémon and placed it on a hospital bed, to be transferred to the healing station. The pair were instructed to wait at the table nearby. A couple of minutes later, Ame and Natasha came over to Vladimir as quickly as possible, to talk to him about what the emergency was about.

"Is…is it true that you found a Tynamo in the streets?" Ame asked Vladimir, unsure whether it was true or not.

"Indeed, we did find a Tynamo." Emma answered Ame's question. The Reborn Professor then whipped out a notepad and jotted down a brief report of the incident. A few minutes later, the nurse came over to the group to inform them of the situation.

"We were able to save her, but we feel that it would be best if a responsible trainer took care of her." She told the group, as she handed a Pokéball with the Tynamo to Ame.

"Seeing as how Vladimir was the one who carried her here, I feel that it would be a good idea for him to be her trainer." Emma suggested to everyone, whom had no problem with the suggestion. Ame then handed the Pokéball to Vladimir.

"Take good care of her." The nurse said, as she went back to her post. Vladimir then decided to discuss the Espurr incident to his friends, slightly worried about how they would react to hearing about how he had killed the thugs.

"Wow! You have just gotten here and already you saved the lives of three Pokémon." Natasha praised Vladimir. "It's just a shame that you were forced to kill the thugs." She continued.

"Indeed, I would have preferred that they would've been arrested, but at least I can rest easy, knowing that they won't be harming anymore innocent Pokémon." Ame added.

"I hate to seem rude, but I would like to train for my first Gym Badge." Vladimir told the trio, as he got up and left the building. After he left, Emma decided to converse with Natasha.

"So how many badges do you have?" she asked, with Natasha raising two fingers in response.

"Cool! I don't even have a badge, but then again, I'm not interested in participating in the Reborn League." Emma responded. "Just curious, but is this the first time you're taking on a League challenge?" she asked.

"Hmm? Why aren't you interested in participating?" Natasha asked.

"Ever since the train station blew up, I've been hearing more about this Team Meteor." Emma replied. "I'm scared that I'll get attacked if I participate."

"I see…" The blonde replied, before turning to Ame. "How's things going with the prisoner?"

"Unfortunately we haven't had much luck. He still refuses to speak, even with the fact that he's got two-degree burns from the interrogators Torkoal." Ame told her. "But we won't throw in the towel yet!"

"That's good to hear." Natasha said, before standing up. "I'm going to the Obsidia ward to see if the store has any new items in stock. Preferably some more powerful Pokéballs." With that, the young trainer exited the building, leaving Ame and Emma to make small talk amongst each other.

 **Back with Vladimir**

Vladimir was walking near the house with the old man, whom had given him the snacks when he noticed something in the distance. He went closer to take a look at it and was genuinely surprised.

There, in front of him was a Teddiursa, whom, from the look of things, appears to be a female. Vladimir had been wanting to train a Teddiursa ever since he read about a trainer who managed to sweep three gyms in Hoenn with just an Ursaring. He searched his bag for the treats, making sure not to make too much noise and scare the Pokémon away. Fortunately, Vladimir managed to get the treats out without frightening the Teddiursa away. He poured some into his hand, held it out and started to walk slowly towards the unsuspecting Pokémon.

"I got some treats for you." He spoke to the Teddiursa, whom turned around and made eye contact with him. She walked up to his open hand and sniffed the treats, to see if they were safe to eat. After deeming the treats to be safe, she started eating out of his hand.

"You like these treats do you?" Vladimir cooed to the small Pokémon, who was too busy eating to listen to him. "If you want to, you can tag along with me" He suggested. The Teddiursa pondered for a minute before deciding to join him, seeing as how she could get more treats that way. Vladimir then threw a Pokéball at it and caught it. Vladimir retrieved the Pokéball and continued on his journey, however he was stopped by a young lady.

"I challenge you to a 1 on 1 Pokémon battle." She announced to the young man, whom nodded in approval.

"Alright then, Go Surskit!" the lady called out as she threw a Pokéball, releasing what appeared to be a blue water-strider with a yellow cap that has a single antenna on top.

"Let's see what you can do Teddiursa!" Vladimir called out as he threw his Pokéball, releasing his newly-acquired Pokémon. Vladimir took out his Pokédex and scanned Teddiursa to check out its moves. He then nodded and put it away.

"Alright then, Surskit use Quick Attack!" the young lady called out to her Pokémon, whom charged at Teddiursa and struck it with a tackle at blinding speeds. Teddiursa was flung back from the assault, colliding into a rubbish bin.

"Are you alright?" Vladimir asked his comrade, whom managed to get up and dust herself off. "Alright then" he continued. "Use Lick on her Surskit!" he ordered his Pokémon. Teddiursa ran up to Surskit and licked the Pokémon, paralysing it.

"Drat!" the lady muttered to herself, agitated over the fact that Vladimir got lucky. "Try and use Quick Attack again Surskit!" she asked her Pokémon. Surskit was able to attack Teddiursa despite the paralysis, however Teddiursa was able to dodge it this time.

"Counterattack with Fury Swipes!" Vladimir called out to Teddiursa, who charged at it and strike Surskit with a flurry of powerful scratches. The Surskit crashed into a wall and was knocked out.

"Damn it. Oh well, a loss is a loss." The lady said as she recalled her Surskit and handed over the required prize money to Vladimir. They then said their respective goodbyes and went their separate ways. Vladimir continued walking down the road until he heard what appeared to be a fluttering of wings. He ran over to where he heard the noise, only to witness a Murkrow landing on an empty crate. Vladimir then got out his Tynamo and an empty Pokéball in his hand in order to capture Murkrow. The Murkrow then noticed Tynamo and got itself ready for battle.

"Alright Tynamo, use Thunder Wave!" he called out to his Pokémon, whom proceeded to unleash a weak bolt of lightning, paralysing the Murkrow. Refusing to give up, the Murkrow decided to use Peck on Tynamo, dealing a fair bit of damage, despite the type disadvantage.

After Murkrow had stopped attacking, Tynamo used Charge Beam and dealt a lot of damage to Murkrow. Vladimir used this opportunity to throw a Pokéball at the Murkrow in order to capture it. The Pokéball shook vigorously, as the Murkrow attempted to escape getting captured, but after a minute, the Pokéball ceased to move, indicating Vladimir's successful capture.

"Alright! I caught a Murkrow!" Vladimir cheered, while Tynamo was doing some sort of dance to celebrate. He then recalled Tynamo and went off to the Pokémon Centre in Peridot Ward.

 **15 minutes later**

After leaving the Pokémon Centre, Vladimir decided to challenge Julia in an official Gym Battle for a badge. He remembered where the gym was and walked towards it. After 15 minutes of walking, he reached his destination, only to hear from a disappointed trainer that the Gym was closed. However, something on the door caught his eye, walking over to the door, Vladimir spotted a note that read.

 _Fern and I will proceed to the target headquarters. Objective confirmed to reside within Factory. Investigating West Peridot Factory first. Join immediately._

 _~ F_

He knew of a factory that he saw while he was training his Pokémon, near a Pokémart and decided to head towards the factory. While walking to his destination, he made sure not to take notice of the numerous gangsters as he didn't want to end up with a knife to the gut. After what felt like a days' worth of walking, he finally reached his destination. He scanned the area to see if anyone else was around. Eventually he saw what appeared to be a male in his late teens who had short green hair and matching eyes as well as a pair of glasses with green lenses. He wore a green shirt and brown shorts as well as brown sandshoes. Vladimir got up closer, only to hear the stranger speak to himself.

"Hmph, my sister said she'll be here, yet I don't see her." He grumbled to himself. Eventually, he noticed Vladimir and gave him an "I'm better than you" look.

"And just what are you doing here, standing around like you've got nothing better to do?" he jeered.

"I'm Vladimir, pleased to meet you." Vladimir greeted, holding out his hand. The stranger took a quick look and started laughing like crazy.

"You honestly think that a noob like you, who doesn't even have a single Gym Badge is worthy of shaking my hand." He chuckled at Vladimir, whom started to get embarrassed. "I'm only going to tell you this once, so make sure you DON'T forget" he continued.

"The name's Fern. I'm the Top dog AND the Cool cat of the Reborn Region, and I'm one of the best trainers here." He introduced himself.

"Top dog? I'm not sure what you mean by that." Vladimir commented, annoying Fern in the process.

"Looks like I have to show you then, just don't go crying to your mommy when I beat you." He sneered at Vladimir, as he threw a Pokéball, releasing a Lotad.

"Alright, if it's a battle you're after, then it's a battle you're getting." Vladimir replied, as he threw his own Pokéball, releasing his Tynamo. Fern, upon seeing Tynamo, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting them back on.

"No way!" he snarled. "How did a loser like you get his hands on a fucking Tynamo?!" he question Vladimir.

"It's called 'Exploring the city'." He retorted. "Now Tynamo, use Thunder Wave!" he ordered his comrade, as she fired a weak bolt of lightning, paralysing the Lotad.

"Fucking paralysis hax!" Fern growled as he kicked a small rock at the factory building. "Use Bubble Lotad!" he ordered his Pokémon, as it fired a slew of bubbles at Tynamo, injuring the Pokémon.

"Going on the offensive huh?" Vladimir commented. "Use Spark!" he asked Tynamo. She cloaked herself with electricity and charged at Lotad, sending the Pokémon flying into a wall, knocking it out.

"If it wasn't for the damn paralysis, then it would have easily owned you." Fern muttered as he returned his Lotad. "Alright Budew, knock some sense into this weak trainer!" he said, as he sent out his Budew.

"Let's use a second Thunder Wave Tynamo!" Vladimir called out, as Tynamo used another Thunder Wave. This time however, Budew was able to dodge the attack.

"Your cheap tricks aren't going to work this time." Fern sneered at Vladimir. "Use Mega Drain on that shrimpy Pokémon." He ordered his Pokémon. The Budew unleashed a dark green beam from its head and struck Tynamo, draining her of her energy. Tynamo then collapsed from exhaustion, unable to battle.

"You did well out there." Vladimir soothed his injured comrade, as he returned it to his Pokéball.

"See that? That's what happens when you mess with the Top dog of this Region" Fern sneered at Vladimir, whom wasn't paying attention to what he was saying.

"Go Espurr! Avenge your fallen comrade." Vladimir announced, as he sent out his Espurr. Espurr took a quick look at Budew, whom was sneering at her.

"Alright Budew, time to use Growth." Fern ordered his Budew. A green glow began to appear on Budew as it took in sunlight. Eventually, the glow disappeared and Budew gave off a cocky smirk, similar to its trainer.

"I guess a Confusion would be the best move in this situation." Vladimir told Espurr, as she unleashed a wave of mental energy at the Budew, damaging it and confusing it at the same time. Fern began to frown at what he was witnessing.

"Fucking bullshit! There's no way someone could get that damn lucky." He roared in anger. "Make that stupid Espurr pay with a Mega Drain!" he ordered his Pokémon. Budew managed to hit Espurr with the Mega Drain, dealing extra damage due to the Growth it had used.

"Espurr!" Vladimir cried out to his friend as it struggled to stand up. She looked at him, indicating that she could continue fighting. "Alright then, use Confusion again!" Vladimir asked Espurr. She nodded and unleashed a second wave of energy, successfully managing to knock-out Budew. Fern started to shake in rage over what he had witnessed.

"I…Will not let some third-rate trainer get the best of ME! Go Snivy, punish this foolish trainer!" he roared as he sent out his Snivy, who like Budew, gave off a cocky smirk. 'Vine Whip that Espurr!" Fern commanded. Snivy was more than happy to and struck Espurr with a pair of vines until she was knocked out.

"Take a nice, long rest Espurr." Vladimir said while returning Espurr to her Pokeball. "I guess it's Torchic's turn to battle." He continued, as he sent out Torchic. Torchic got pumped up for the battle, increasing his speed. Fern look at the Torchic, a mixture of rage and shock plastered on his face.

'A Speed-Boost Torchic?! Motherfucker, that's so cheap. You just had to have a bloody Speed-Boost Torchic to top off your hax." He growled at Vladimir, whom started to develop a smirk on his face.

"I thought that a Top dog like you was able to handle any situation thrown at him." Vladimir retorted to Fern, whom started frothing at the mouth in rage.

"Snivy, use Wrap on that cheap-ass Torchic." He ordered his Pokémon. Snivy dashed at the Torchic in an attempt to wrap itself around Torchic. However Torchic, with the increase in speed, was able to dodge it in time.

"Use Ember Torchic!" Vladimir told his Pokémon. Torchic fired a flurry of small fireballs at Snivy, dealing massive damage and knocking it out. Fern just snorted as he recalled his Pokémon.

"You got lucky this time, but I'LL be the victor next time. And you'll pay for thinking your better than me." Fern seethed at Vladimir, whom was petting his Torchic.

"Later, loser." Fern told Vladimir, as he walked off to wherever he was meant to be.

"Just what is that guy's problem?" Vladimir asked himself as he recalled Torchic and headed back to the Pokémon Centre.

 **Well this was an interesting chapter. Just letting you know that there will be some minor changes in this fanfiction, from the Reborn Game; Case in point, you can't get Murkrow this early in the game.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if there is anything that I need improving on, then don't hesitate to leave a comment.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 4.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I decided to edit Chapters 2 and 3, and scrap the Inglourious Invertebrates, why? Because I felt that it would be better to only have a single antagonistic team (That being Team Meteor) and flesh them out more. I do apologize for the sudden edit.**

 **And to answer your question Lo Min, the first lemon will be in chapter 5, however it may not be the best, given that I'm not good at writing lemons.**

 **I do apologize for the long hiatus, but I was side tracked with a lot of other stuff.**

 **This story is rated M for Violence, Language and Lemons.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon Reborn, it is the property of its creator.**

Vladimir had just exited the Pokémon Centre after they had finished healing up his Pokémon. He then gazed at the setting sun, still deep in thought about his previous battle against the so-called "Top Dog" Fern. The boy's ego was certainly much higher than his skill, as Vladimir proved in their battle. His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Hmm? Is there something you need Natasha?" He turned around and asked the blonde girl.

"Just wanted to check up on you. After all, I did beat you in the Kalos tournament back then." She giggled, before gently rubbing the belly of her newly acquired Noibat that rested on her shoulder.

"I assume that you caught that little fella recently." Vladimir pointed at the small Pokémon on her shoulder.

"Yep! Never expected to find one in the Underground Railnet. Trust me when I tell you, she was famished when I found her." Natasha replied, rummaging her bag for a piece of candy and offering to Noibat, whom happily ate the sweet and nuzzled her owner's cheek, causing the duo to laugh. It was at this point that Vladimir remember something.

"Did you learn anything from the prisoner?" He asked her. A frown then formed on Natasha's otherwise flawless face.

"He bit down on a cyanide pill that he must have kept hidden in his cheek." She answered. "It's almost like he'd expected to get caught." Vladimir then formed a frown as well.

"There goes our only lead…" he muttered.

"Well I've got to go, the situation in Obsidia hasn't improved. Once you've gotten the Volt Badge from Julia, come and give me a hand, alright?" Natasha replied, before walking off with her Noibat following close by.

Vladimir watched her walk off for a bit before heading to where the gym was. He had heard that the gyms in Reborn used a full team of six Pokémon, and were higher trained than those of the Gym Leaders from the other regions. All of a sudden another familiar voice rang his ears.

"HEY THERE!" Julia called out to the young man.

"Ah, hi Julia." He greeted, a little surprised from the sudden outburst.

"I have good news! We just discovered where that boomer's hide out is. I say we should go in and blow it up!" She cheered, jumping up and down on the spot. Vladimir was taken aback by her sudden cheeriness, compared to when he first met her at the train station.

"Uhh…I don't think it's safe to blow up buildings in populated areas." He tried to tell her, but to no avail.

"Aww don't be such a wet rag. Rini and her brother are going to be helping me. In fact, why don't you tag along? It'll be a lot more fun with the four of us." The cheerleader smiled at him.

"Sure why not?" He replied. However he was deep in thought. _"Fern mentioned something about his sister talking to him about meeting up at a factory. Could this Rini be who he was talking about?"_ Vladimir wasn't too keen on meeting up with Fern again, but his thoughts were interrupted as Julia dragged him by his hand.

"H-Hey!" He called out to her, a little surprised by being dragged by someone he had only known for a short while.

Five minutes later

"Umm Julia, you mind telling me where we're going?" Vladimir asked, attracting the attention of the bubbly young lady.

"Oh we're just going to our secret hideout, where we can spy on the boomers associates. I'll blow them out of this city!" Julia cheered, a goofy grin on her face.

"And this secret hideout is where?" He inquired.

"Just over here!" She replied, as the duo stopped in front of a seemingly ordinary house. The Gym Leader then opened the door and gestured the young man to come in, which he did.

The interior was a bit worn down, with tattered couches in the lounge room and dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. The TV seemed to be working, much to Vladimir's benefit. The young boy then turned it on and was surprised when he noticed a show dedicated to finding Pokémon.

"Uh Julia, what is this show about?" He asked her, pointing to the TV.

"On the Hunt." Julia replied, as bubbly as ever. "It's this really cool show where a bunch of reporters document Pokémon locations throughout the region. Just last week, they had an episode dedicated to a colony of Voltorb. I caught half a dozen so I can make more things go BOOM!" She jumped in the air at the last word. Vladimir gave her a small smile before turning to the TV.

"An eyewitness report informed us of a rare Pokémon entering the factory near the train station. It was described as 'small, white and has a blue flame on its head.' Trainers are advised to look carefully around the area, as this could be someone's lucky day. That's all for tonight folks!" The reporter stated.

Vladimir was musing to himself, he already has five Pokémon in his team and considered leaving it for someone else. But at the same time, he couldn't knock back at the chance to capture a rare Pokémon. He sighed and promptly turned off the TV, he didn't want to get distracted after all.

"Hmmm…looks like they aren't here yet. Oh well, let's start booming things up without them!" Julia told him while dragging his arm for the second time this day.

 **Suspicious Factory Exterior**

There was but one word that could describe the factory, depressing. The outer walls were painted a dull grey that matches the cracked pavement surrounding the building. The windows were shattered, with hundreds of tiny pieces of glass all over the ground. Furthermore, there was a large quantity of putrid brown water gushing out of the pipes that came out of the building.

"Hmmm, looks like the door's locked." Vladimir noted. He had attempted to open it, but to no avail. "Got any ideas Julia?"

"Heh, I have just the plan…" She chuckled lightly, bringing out a Pokémon and releasing her Electrode. "Alright Electrode, use Explosion and make that door go boom!"

The Ball Pokémon rolled up to the door and began to glow, as it was gathering enough energy for its attack. Vladimir quickly dove behind a pile of rubble while Julia was cheering for her companion. A few seconds later, Electrode created a large explosion, annihilating the door and sending dust and debris up in the air.

"Thanks Electrode!" Julia smiled as she returned her Pokémon, before turning to Vladimir, who had covered his ears. "So what did you think of that? Did you enjoy the boom?"

"Urk, maybe next time you can warn me whenever you feel like blowing stuff up." He winced, getting up off the floor and dusting himself. It wasn't long before he noticed a pair of trainers, one of which he was too familiar with, walked up to Julia and him.

"Explosion detected. Julia's presence confirmed." The female trainer said, in a cold, emotionless voice, as if she were a robot. She had short green hair, with blue eyes, and wore a pair of reading glasses. Her outfit was a bright green shirt, which was worn over a dark green, long sleeve undershirt. She also wore a pair of green shorts, an a pair of stockings, as well as some green boots Julia turned around to face the newcomers, a wide smile on her face.

"Oh hi Rini!" She beamed, much to Vladimir's confusion. "Oh, this is Florinia. She was my BFF, back in high school." Julia introduced. "And that's her younger brother Fern…moving on!"

"Hah, I guess I don't get a special introduction." Fern snorted before walking up to Vladimir. "Hey man, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but we're cool now, ok?"

"Uh, ok…." Vladimir said uneasily.

"Anyway, don't mind my sister. People often call her Flobot, due to her emotionless demeanour." Fern commented.

"Well I call her Rini, because she's not a robot!" Julia retorted.

"Shouldn't we be investigating the place now?" Vladimir asked.

"About time! I was hoping to defeat some weak criminals." Fern grinned, a gleam in his eyes. The group of four made their way inside the building.

 **Factory interior**

The interior wasn't much better than outside the factory. There was the remains of several desks and chairs, with torn scraps of paper all over the floor. The group looked over the rusted railing, and looked at the filthy water flowing to the lake outside.

"URGH! This place smells terribadtastic…" Julia winced, leaving everyone else wondering if 'terribadtastic' was even a real word.

"The wine hue indicates a high level of pollutants. Estimated level of toxicity, over 90%." Florinia noted, taking a small sample of the water and analysing it.

"Who would gain something out of poisoning the water supply?" Vladimir asked out loud.

"I don't know, I just want to get going—"Fern called out, but was interrupted by Florina.

"The path diverges. Most effective course of action for investigation of the property is a similar bisection of the party." Both Vladimir and Fern were confused at what they heard.

"Duuhh! It means we should split up." Julia giggled. "As for pairs, I'll go with Rini, while Fern goes with Vladdie."

"As much as I have no problem with the match-up, I feel that I would be best suited with Flobot, what with us being siblings and all…" Fern told Julia, before walking up to Florinia. "C'mon sis, let's get going." He said, before walking off to the eastern wing of the facility. Florinia let out a small sigh before heading off to catch up to him.

"Awwwww, I wanted to go with Rini…" Julia pouted. Vladimir walked up to her and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll reunite with her. In the meantime, how about we explore the western wing?" He suggested.

"Ok then, time to make some baddies go ka-boom!" She cheered. Vladimir could have sworn he saw the faintest of blushes on her face, but ignored it and proceeded to the west wing with Julia.

 **Opal Ward Pokémon Center**

Natasha had finished buying what she needed, and decided to check up on Ame, when a man dressed like a fisherman gestured her to come talk to him.

"Hmmm, is there something you need?" She asked politely. The fisherman had a grin on his face.

"Young lady, are you interested in a Pokémon so powerful, even the legendary Pokémon bow to it?" He questioned her, hoping for her to make the purchase. Naturally, Natasha was a bit suspicious about the offer and decided to ask more questions.

"How were you able to capture such a powerful Pokémon?"

"I didn't catch it; it found me worthy to be its trainer." The fisherman answered.

"Yet you have no problem parting with it." She retorted, noticing the sweat on the fisherman's forehead.

"I'm not giving it for free, it costs 500 Pokédollars!" he stammered. At this stage, Natasha knew that the man was bluffing, but seeing as how Pokémon were a lot harder to come by in Reborn, she decided to make the purchase.

"I guess that's a fair price for such a powerful Pokémon…" she mused, handing over the money to him. By then, a thug with a scruffy beard spotted the pokeball and decided to make a move.

"Heheheh…I'll be taking that, missy!" he sneered, grabbing her arm. Natasha retaliated by punching the thug in the stomach, causing him to let go of her and drop to the ground. The fisherman panicked and held her hands behind her back.

"How dare you assault my business partner like that!" He growled. Natasha sighed and stomped on the fisherman's right foot, causing him to howl in pain and hop on the spot, clutching his injured foot. By then, Ame and a pair of police officers arrived on the scene.

"What happened here?" Ame asked Natasha. Natasha then explained about how the thug tried to steal the Pokémon she bought from the fisherman, as well as how she defended herself from the both of them.

"Well we did have several trainers complain about a thug stealing a Pokémon that they bought from a fisherman, I guess this must be who they were talking about." Ame replied, before facing the police officers. "Arrest these two at once!" she ordered, pointing to the pair of crooks. The police officers arrested the two and proceeded to take them away.

"Thanks for dealing with those scoundrels." Ame thanked Natasha. "It's sad about how there's been an increase in crime, as of lately."

"Indeed…by the way, you want to see the 'Pokemon of Legend' the man was talking about?" Natasha offered, bringing out the Pokéball and opening it. The Pokémon of Legend was revealed to be…a humble Magikarp. The fish Pokémon splashed about on the floor, with Ame and Natasha watching it, with an embarrassed on their face.

"It's quite lively, I suppose…" Natasha sighed, returning the Magikarp to its Pokeball.

 **Suspicious Factory: West wing**

"You found anything so far?" Vladimir asked Julia, who was ahead of him.

"Nope, but keep looking. We're bound to find the boomers sooner or later." She answered, a grin on her face. Vladimir sighed to himself, even in times like this, she still has a wide grin on her face. Not that he minded seeing a pretty lady like Julia smile. All of a sudden, a pair of suspicious men in black jumpsuits confronted them.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we've got a pair of intruders in our hideout." One of the men sneered to the other.

"Seems like it; better that we deal with them quickly, and dump their bodies in the lake." The other one chuckled.

"You made a big mistake blowing up the train-station, it's time for me to defeat you and hand you over to Ame~" Julia declared, bringing out a Pokéball, with Vladimir doing the same. The two men then brought out their own Pokéballs and threw them, calling out a Roggenrola and an Aron.

"Tynamo, I choose you!" Vladimir called out, releasing the electric eel from her Pokéball.

"Make those bad guys go boom, Electrode!" Julia smiled, releasing her star Pokémon. The Ball Pokémon grinned menacingly at the enemy Pokémon.

"You made a grave mistake, messing with Team Meteor." The first man informed the duo. "Aron, use Harden!" he called out, as the Aron glowed brightly, bolstering its defences.

"You too Roggenrola!" the second grunt ordered, with the Roggenrola also bolstering its defences.

"Is that the best you can do?" Julia taunted. "Electrode, use Screech, then follow it up with Rollout!" Electrode emitted an ear-splitting screech, causing everyone except Julia to cover their ears.

"Alright Tynamo, use Thunder Wave on the Roggenrola…" Vladimir managed to get out. Tynamo fired a weak bolt of electricity at the Mantle Pokémon, paralysing it.

"Argh! Use Rock Blast on Tynamo!" the grunt ordered. The Roggenrola fired a barrage of sharp rocks from the orifice on its body. A few of them struck Tynamo, causing the eel to cry out in pain.

"Follow it up with a Take Down, Aron!" the other grunt ordered, his Aron charging at Tynamo and colliding with it head on, causing Tynamo to be thrown towards the wall, the impact causing it to faint.

"Tynamo!" Vladimir shouted, running up to his weakened Pokémon, and cradling it. "I'll get you healed up, as soon as possible." He soothed his Pokémon, before putting her back in her Pokéball. Vladimir then brought out Espurr's Pokéball and released his pokemon, before gazing at the Meteor grunts.

' _Hmm…these guys seem a lot more competent than your standard Rocket grunt.'_ He thought to himself. "Espurr, use Confusion on Roggenrola!" Vladimir asked. Espurr mewed at him and focused intensely on the Mantle Pokémon, lifting it up off the ground.

"Alright Electrode, now use Sonic Boom on Aron.~" Julia cheered, as her Electrode spun in circles rapidly, sending powerful shock waves at the Aron. Despite its solid defences, the attack dealt a lot of damage to the Pokémon, pushing it back a few feet.

"Ngggh, get up Aron!" the Meteor grunt barked. The Iron Armor Pokémon steadily got up, groggy from the attack.

"Hmmmm…looks like it's time to use my trump card." Julia whispered to herself, before a wide grin appeared on her face. "Electrode, time to make the room go Ka-Boom!" she shouted, jumping up in the air. Electrode grinned at its trainer and glowed a harsh light. Vladimir noticed what was going to happen and rushed over to Espurr.

"Stay close to me." He told Espurr, cradling it in his arms and protecting it, as he hid under a desk. A few seconds later, Electrode exploded, creating a large hole in the wall. The pair of grunts and their Pokémon were knocked out.

"…Julia. Please warn me next time you decide to go boom." He asked her, in a deadpan tone of voice, his hair standing on end.

"Awwwwww, but not knowing is half the fun!" she chirped. The two then returned their Pokémon and continued investigating the strange place.

 **15 minutes later**

As the two continued walking, the decided to engage in a bit of small talk, to pass the time. Vladimir was quite intrigued about Electrode's Explosion.

"Do you have any idea why Explosion dealt Electric-type damage to the enemy Pokémon?" he asked, his hair having gone back down.

"Must have been powered up by the factory. Adds a bit of extra spice to the Ka-Boom!" Julia quipped. Vladimir nodded at the answer, seeing as how it makes a small amount of sense. However, what she would say next would surprise him.

"Hey Vladdie."

"Yes?"

"For some reason, I find you quite cute." Julia giggled.

"Huh?!" Vladimir replied, his cheeks bright red. "Well in my defense, I also find you quite cute." He replied. Julia turned around quickly, trying to hide the blush on her own face; however, she spotted something quite peculiar.

"What's that over there?" she asked out loud. Vladimir turned to where she was pointing, and spotted a Pokémon behind a piece of machinery. He walked up to it, and soon realized that the Pokémon was a Litwick.

' _That must be the rare Pokémon that show was talking about.'_ He thought to himself, before crouching down and pulling out the Pokésnax from his bag. The Litwick quickly notice the bag and floated up to him.

"You hungry little one?" Vladimir cooed, offering a few snacks to the Candle Pokémon. The Litwick devoured the snacks, as if it hadn't eaten in a few days, before giving Vladimir a small smile.

"You want to come with me?" he offered, placing an empty Pokéball on the ground. The Litwick let out a happy chirp, before touching the button on the Pokéball, allowing itself to be caught.

"Wow, you bonded with that Litwick already!" Julia quipped. "You must be really special."

"Well I have been known to treat my Pokémon frequently…" Vladimir chuckled light, while scratching the back of his head. "Any we should—"he began, but was interrupted by the arrival of another pair of Meteor Grunts, this time it was one male, and one female.

"My, my. What a nice Litwick you got there. I wouldn't mind pinching it for myself…" The female grunt jeered.

"Stay away from my Litwick!" Vladimir called out, clutching onto the Pokéball tightly.

"Should we make these two go boom as well?" Julia asked Vladimir, whom nodded and called out his Litwick, with Julia calling out her Electrode. Vladimir brought out his Pokédex, and checked Litwick's moves.

' _Ember, Smog, Minimize, and Confuse Ray? Not a bad set of moves for a young Pokémon.'_ He thought to himself, before turning to face the grunts, who had called out their Pokémon. The male grunt had a Zubat, while the female had a Purrloin out.

"Purrloin, use Scratch on the Electrode!" The female grunt called out, as the feline Pokémon attempted to attack the Ball Pokémon, who just stared at it with a grin on its face. Electrode then dodged the attack and used Charge Beam on Purrloin, sending it flying into a wall.

"Ha-Ha! That was easy~" Julia smiled, agitating the grunts.

"Zubat, confuse the Litwick with Supersonic!" the male grunt ordered, as the Bat Pokémon unleashed an ear-piercing sound wave from its mouth, causing Julia and Vladimir to cover their ears in pain.

"Argh! Cut that down!" Vladimir winced.

"This isn't fun…" Julia complained. Her Electrode wasn't affected by it, due to its Soundproof ability, and merely ignored the attack. Litwick on the other hand, was also wincing in pain, unleashing a glowing orb from its flame, and aimed it at the Zubat. The orb circled the Zubat rapidly, until it exploded into a bright flash of light. When the light died down, it revealed that Zubat was confused as a result of the attack.

"Oh no!" the male grunt called out in shock.

"Can't you substitute it for another Pokémon?" the female grunt asked.

"I can't, I don't have any other Pokémon!" the male grunt responded. While the two grunts were bickering amongst themselves, Vladimir and Julia were whispering to themselves.

"Are you ready to finish them off?" the young man asked.

"Yep! Let's teach these boomers a lesson~" the cheerleader replied. "Alright Electrode, use Charge Beam on Zubat!" Electrode grinned and proceeded to charge up a ball of electricity, before turning it into a beam and firing it at the Zubat. The Bat Pokémon managed to snap out of confusion, before turning around and began shrieking at the sight of the incoming attack. The Charge Beam collided with the enemy Pokémon, electrocuting it, causing the Zubat to faint. The Purrloin recovered from the previous attack and noticed its comrade fall to the floor.

"Alright Litwick, use Ember on Purrloin!" Vladimir called out, as the ghostly candle fired a stream of small fire balls at the Purrloin, causing it to cry out in pain, before subsequently fainting alongside Zubat. The two grunts had finished arguing, only to gasp at the sight of their fainted Pokémon.

"Looks like you two are out of commission. Now are you going to turn yourselves in, or do I have to drag you down to the police?" Julia asked nicely, with a bit of malice seeping in during the second sentence. The grunts returned their Pokémon, before fleeing the base, in fear.

"Looks like we won our first battle together!" Vladimir cheered, picking up Litwick and gently petting it. Litwick cooed in response to the tender loving it was receiving. The two heroes continued their way into the base, until they came across a locked door.

"Drat! The door's locked." Vladimir called out.

"Not a problem~" Julia chimed, as she threw a Pokéball and called out a Voltorb. "Use Self-Destruct!" The Voltorb glowed harshly, as the heroes hid behind some cover to protect themselves. After a few seconds of charging power, the Voltorb unleashed a powerful explosion, destroying the door. Once the debris had settled, Julia skipped over to her Voltorb and gave it a Revive, before returning it to its Pokéball.

"Let's check out what's beyond the door." Vladimir called out, as the duo continued to infiltrate the base.

 **10 minutes later**

The duo had entered a room that contained a door that was behind a large, metal gate, with a monitor beside the gate. Florinia was busy clicking the keys on the console attached to the monitor, in an attempt to hack the system, while Fern was leaning against the wall, bored out of his mind.

"Meteor Headquarters confirmed beyond gate. Digital security system appears substandard. Patience is required." Florinia updated Julia and Vladimir.

"Awwwwwwww. That'll take too long. Can't we blow up the doors?" Julia begged.

"Why is combustion your solution to every obstacle in your path?" Florinia inquired, sighing to herself.

"Hey, at least it's the quicker option. I don't want to stand around here, when there are noobs to be crushed." Fern scoffed, before turning to Vladimir. "Got yourself a Litwick, huh? That's cool for you, I guess…" he commented, before crouching to Litwick's eye-level. "Hey there, want to join my team?"

Litwick huffed and turned away from Fern, causing the teenager to grumble to himself. A minute later, a loud noise surprised the group, as the metal gate opened in a jiffy.

"Breaching complete, proceeding to enter." Florinia commented, walking briskly into the room, with Julia quickly following in tow. Fern and Vladimir looked at each other, before following the two women into the room.

A tense feeling gripped Vladimir's body, as he analysed the room. There were several drawers that were opened and closed hastily, indicating that something was taken out of the drawers. At the back of the room was a large console, with data involving the pollution levels of the water depicted on the monitors. Asides from himself, Julia, Florinia and Fern, there were three people in the room; two Meteor grunts, one male and one female, and an imposing guy, Vladimir assumed to be the leader.

The guy was fairly tall, with short black hair, and a stocky build. His outfit consisted of a black coat, that appeared to look like a set of body armor, a long, black undershirt with long sleeves, and a pair of black pants, topped off with matching cap-toe Oxford shoes. The most striking feature about the man, was the red eyepatch that covered his left eye. Vladimir shivered; even without speaking a word, the man managed to be intimidating. All of a sudden, the Meteor Admin began to give the heroes a slow golf clap.

"Bravo. Impressive to see that you managed to make it this far. However I can't give you all the credit. After all, it was I who opened the gate for you. Not that it matters, all of the data has been destroyed, making this a fruitless experience for you all." The man exclaimed, his voice perfectly suiting his appearance.

"The data doesn't matter. We've got you cornered, and I'll blow your face off for what you did to the train station!" Julia declared, tightening the grip in her hand.

"Ohohohoho! You think you can take me on?" The leader jeered, before turning to the grunts. "Aster, Eclipse. You two take out the small fry." He pointed to Vladimir and Fern.

"Roger!" Eclipse replied, as she and Aster threw their Pokéballs, revealing an Elekid and a Magby respectively. "I'll take on the two Gym Leaders." The Meteor Admin continued, as he called out a very large Seviper from his Pokéball.

"Psssst, my Seviper's a lot bigger than his, if you know what I mean…" Fern spoke to Vladimir, before he began to laugh at his joke. Vladimir did chuckle at the joke, however the Meteor Admin was not amused.

"A wise guy huh, destroy them before they can crack any more jokes!" he barked at the grunts.

"Right away sir!" Aster replied. "Magby, use Ember!" he called out to his Pokémon, who nodded and proceeded to launch a flurry of small fireballs at the duo, whom dodged the attack.

"If you want to get crushed, then I'll be glad to oblige. Lotad, punish those bastards!" Fern called out, releasing his Lotad from its Pokéball.

"Alright Litwick, show them how it's done." Vladimir asked his Pokémon, whom jumped out of his arms and readied itself for battle. Eclipse looked unamused by her opponents Pokémon.

"And I was hoping for more of a challenge…" she sighed to herself, crossing her arms. "Elekid, use Thunder Shock on the candle!" she ordered her Elekid, whom began spinning its arms like a windmill, generating electricity between the horns on its head, before firing it at Litwick. The Candle Pokémon cried out in pain, as the electricity was coursing through its body.

"Hang in there Litwick. Use Ember on Elekid!" Vladimir called out. Litwick fired a barrage of fireballs from the flame on top of its head, striking the Elekid, causing it to cry out in pain.

"Looks like it's time for Plan B…Magby, use Smokescreen!" Aster ordered, with the Live Coal Pokémon spewing out a dark cloud of smoke from its mouth, blanketing the battlefield.

"Argh! Lotad, use Bubble to dispel the Smokescreen!" Fern called out, as the Water Weed Pokémon shot a torrent of bubbles from its mouth, dispelling the Smokescreen. However, Lotad was soon struck by Elekid's Low Kick, followed by a surprise Ember from Magby. The Lotad was sent flying into the wall, where it fell to the floor, knocked out by the attack. Fern and Vladimir gaped at the scene, clearly these two grunt were a step above the other ones.

"What is this rubbish?! Ganging up on my Pokémon while they couldn't see a thing!" Fern growled, returning his Lotad. "Come on out Snivy, take out these noobs." He called out his starter Pokémon.

"Oh no, a Snivy. We're doomed…" Eclipse commented sarcastically. "Elekid, how about a second Thunder Shock on the Litwick?" the Elekid proceeded to charge up its attack again, before firing it at the Litwick, shocking the small Pokémon, and sending it flying into a second wall. Vladimir rushed to check up on his Pokémon.

"You alright little buddy?" he cradled his Pokémon, who replied weakly. "Once this is done, I'll make sure you receive a proper rest." He continued, returning his Pokémon.

"A critical hit…" Aster commented, before turning to Eclipse. "Nice! Keep up the crits, and we've got this."

"Don't be so sure of that!" Vladimir interjected, calling out his Torchic. The small chicken stared down at the enemy Pokémon. "Now use Peck on Magby!"

The chicken Pokémon ran up to the Magby and began pecking it relentlessly, causing it to wince at every hit.

"So you want to play this game, huh?" Aster commented. "Use Feint Attack!" the Magby quickly disappeared from view, surprising Torchic, when it was struck on the back by a small red arm. The Torchic skidded a few feet, as the Magby gave it a small sneer.

"Elekid, use Quick Attack on the Snivy!" Eclipse ordered. The Elekid then made a dash towards Snivy, in an attempt to strike it down.

"Not going to work, loser! Use Vine Whip Snivy!" Fern called out. The Snivy unleashed a pair of vines from its collar, ensnaring the Elekid, and throwing it towards the Magby. The Elekid had no time to react, before it collided with its comrade.

"Now that's what I'm—"Fern began, but was surprised by his Snivy glowing all of a sudden. A grin formed on his face, as his Snivy evolved into a Servine. The Servine was a lot taller and slimmer than its pre-evolution.

"Hahaha! My Pokémon evolved. Looks like it's all over for you noobs." He taunted the Meteor grunts.

"How dare you talk to us like that! Magby, use Ember on that Servine!" Aster demanded.

"Finally, a challenge. Elekid, use Low Kick on Torchic." Eclipse ordered. The Elekid charged at the Torchic and attempted to kick it, only for it to jump into the air.

"Use Ember on Elekid!" Vladimir called out, as Torchic fired another barrage of fire balls at the Elekid, sending the Pokémon flying.

"Time for the final blow…Servine, use Leaf Tornado on both these jokers!" Fern ordered. The Servine nodded and proceeded to spin in circles rapidly, conjuring a large tornado made up of wind and leaves. The Servine then span around and ensnared both Elekid and Magby in the tornado. After a minute, Servine then flung the tornado against a wall, dealing great damage to the two Pokémon. The two grunts were surprised at the outcome, as they saw their Pokémon fall to the floor, both of them knocked out.

"We did it Torchic!" Vladimir called out, running up to his Pokémon and hugging it. After letting go, the Torchic did a little happy dance, before it to, began to glow.

"No way…" he muttered to himself, as his Torchic grew and began to change form. Once the light died down, Vladimir noticed that his Torchic was now a Combusken. "Hey, hey. Looks like someone evolved." Vladimir told his Combusken, a proud look on the trainers face. The Meteor Admin then noticed that Aster and Eclipse were defeated, and scoffed to himself.

"Tch, I'm disappointed that you didn't last longer." He shot at the two grunts, whom had a gloomy look on their faces, as they returned their Pokémon. Both Julia's Electrode and Florinia's Cradily looked exhausted, and had several scrapes and bruises on them. In stark contrast, the Seviper had negligible amounts of damage on its body. "Hmmm…I can take on two trainers, but four is another story." He muttered, as he returned his Seviper.

"You may have won this round. But remember this! Team Meteor doesn't forget, nor do we forgive…" the Admin called out, retrieving a smoke ball from his pocket, and throwing it on the floor. The heroes shielded their eyes from the smoke, enabling the Meteor admin and the grunts to escape. Once the smoke died down, the heroes realized that they had escaped.

"It appears the enemy has escaped. Let us return our Pokémon." Florinia noted, as the group of four returned their Pokémon. Julia then skipped towards the large console and began mashing buttons.

"What are you doing…?" Vladimir inquired, as a grin began to from on Julia's face. All of a sudden, an alarm began blaring throughout the facility.

"Oh shit! Let's get out of here!" Fern cried out, as the group of four booked it out of the place. A minute later, the Peridot ward was struck with a second explosion, as the factory was reduced to rubble.

 **Outside**

"What is wrong with you?! We could have died in there!" Fern yelled at Julia, who just stood there smiling.

"Well that's a wrap!" she quipped, ignoring Fern's yelling.

"I'm getting out of here, last thing I want is to be blown up!" the Top Dog commented, brushing the dirt off his shirt.

"Indeed." Was all Florinia said. "The situation in Obsidia remains volatile."

"Okay~ thanks for your help! It was really nice to catch up with you two again!" Julia smiled, as Florinia walked off. A sad frown then appeared on Julia's face. "Poor Rini, she hasn't been the same…"

"Since Titania? She has a habit of traumatizing people. Try not to piss her off. She may look hot, but say that to her, and you'll end up with a few broken bones." Fern interjected, looking at Vladimir in particular. "Anyway, I've got stuff to do, and I can't wander around town like a complete goof. Peace." Fern continued, before following his sister. Julia then turned to Vladimir.

"Well Vladdie, looks like we've kicked the boomers butts!" she grinned.

"Yeah, we did. Do you know where the nearest Pokémon Center is?" he inquired.

"Well there's one in the center of the ward, but that one shuts around midnight, in order to provide some shelter for the homeless people. I have a machine in my apartment that can heal your Pokémon." Julia answered "In fact, why don't you stay over for the night?"

"I'd appreciate that, thank you very much." Vladimir replied, as he followed the Gym Leader to her home, unaware that a sinister figure was watching them.

"Heheheh, it looks like my chance for revenge has emerged…." He sneered, before disappearing into the shadows.

 **Done, that was quite the chapter.**

 **Again, I'm sorry for the hiatus. It's just that I was caught up in so much school work, I had no time for this story.**

 **On another note, I've been playing Pokémon Uranium recently, and it is amazing. I'm unsure on whether I should have some of the Pokémon from that game make an appearance.**

 **If there's anything I can do to improve, then don't hesitate to leave a comment.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 5, where we have our first Gym Battle!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Last time, Vladimir worked together with Julia, Florinia, and Fern to take out an abandoned factory, used as a base by a sinister organisation called Team Meteor. Meanwhile, Natasha dismantled a scam conjured up by a pair of shady crooks, and got herself a Magikarp for her troubles.**

 **Note: There will be a lemon in this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Reborn, it is the property of its creators.**

Opal Ward Administration Building: Lounge Room

Natasha was getting herself ready for bed, as she straightened her blanket and fluffed up her pillow, before laying back on the couch. It was the only option ready for her, since all of the rooms were booked out by other trainers. Luckily, she had managed to change into her pyjamas beforehand, which consisted of a pink, long-sleeved satin button up shirt, and matching pink satin pyjama pants. Since she wasn't tired yet, she decided to turn on the television for a bit, making sure to lower the volume, so as to not wake up anyone else in the building. A minute later, Ame walking into the room, with a cup of hot chocolate in each hand, and promptly sat beside Natasha. Ame's pyjamas were identical to Natasha's, except they were purple, instead of pink.

"You mind if I sit beside you? I've made you some hot chocolate to help you sleep." Ame asked.

"No problem. Thanks for the hot chocolate." Natasha gratefully accepted the hot chocolate, and took a small sip from it. "Tastes fresh."

"I made it myself." Ame giggled, taking a sip from her own hot chocolate. The two women then focused on the show that was being played. It showed a boy of around 12 years, with a big grin on his face, as he held up a trophy in the air, indicating that he emerged victorious in a tournament. He had short red hair, with a yellow streak going through the middle. His outfit consisted of a red hoodie, black jeans with a red stripe over where the knees are, and a pair of red sneakers.

"Hehe, he's grown since I last saw him…" Natasha muttered to herself, not realising Ame had heard her.

"You know this young man?" the Reborn Professor inquired.

"Yeah, he's Theo. He challenged the Tandor Region championship, alongside me and Vladimir. The three of us became close friends during the journey." Natasha answered. "In fact, it was the tournament I attended, before arriving at Reborn."

"How fascinating. So where did you come in the tournament?" Ame asked, intrigued by the Tandor region, due to the unique Pokémon that live in the region."

"Well…all three of us managed to get all the Gym Badges, and successfully arrived at the Championship site. We managed to reach the quarter finals, where I defeated Vladimir, and proceeded to the Grand Final. I was up against Theo and together, the two of us had an amazing fight. Either of us could have won, but in the end, Theo managed to defeat me, securing the championship for himself." The young Pokémon trainer recalled, taking another sip of hot chocolate.

"I remembered hearing about a series of nuclear disasters affecting the region. Do you know anything about that?" Ame pressed.

"Yeah. I, Vladimir, Theo and the Tandor Pokémon Rangers investigated the nuclear disasters. We learnt that the original accident that occurred at Nuclear Plant Epsilon all those years ago was initiated by a sinister Pokémon scientist, known as Professor Larkspur, in order to cover up some unethical research he was conducting. Following the discovery, the Rangers put out a wanted notice for Larkspur's capture, promising a handsome reward. As for the recent accidents…I was told not to divulge about them." Natasha went into detail.

"Larkspur…I've heard of that man. He attempted to persuade me into handing him over some shiny Pokémon, in an attempt to see why they're encountered a lot more commonly here, than in other regions. I handed them over to him, out of goodwill, since I was genuinely interested as well. He thanked me and proceeded to leave. It was around two months later, that he called me, notifying me that the Pokémon had died under mysterious circumstances. A week later, I saw a news story on television about how several shiny Pokémon were rescued, following a raid on a Team Rocket base in the Orange Islands, some of them I recognised as the Pokémon I gave Larkspur. It then dawned on me that I was deceived by that cretin." Ame recalled, her eyes narrowed in rage.

"Don't worry Ame, I'll help bring that man to justice!" Natasha declared. "I already defeated him once, when he attempted to steal my Pokémon, as well as an important device I promised to take care of."

"Really? And what was this device?" Ame inquired.

"A prototype for a Pokémon Speech Translator, created and designed by Professor Cypress." Natasha answered, before she sighed. "I wonder how he's doing…"

"Who do you mean, when you say he?" Ame asked.

"You see, originally, there were four of us journeying through Tandor. Me, Vladimir, Theo, and Jonathan. Theo decided to leave the group temporarily, stating that he wanted to catch a few more Pokémon on Route 16, leaving us three to travel to Tsukinami Village, where the eighth Gym was. When we arrived there, we entered a dojo that was located in the north-eastern area of the village. We were soon greeted by an elderly man, known as Grandmaster Yoshitaka, whom encouraged us to take the Test of the Six Arts, to see if we were worthy of owning a Volchik. The test was incredibly gruelling, and at times, I was tempted to give up. However I persevered, and I and Vladimir were deemed worthy of training a Volchik." Natasha recalled, her voice taking on a sombre tone.

"Wow! To meet someone who succeeded the Tsukinami Test of the Six Arts, is a great honour!" Ame commented.

"However, for some reason, Jonathan wasn't deemed worthy. This had greatly upset him, and he stormed out of there. The three of us didn't talk much during the rest of our time there, due to the tension in the air. After we had completed our Gym Battles, the three of us left the Village, and made our way through Route 14. While we were setting camp up for the night, Jonathan noticed a baby Volchik, abandoned by some careless trainer. He took the baby Pokémon and nursed it back to help, all while keeping it a secret from me and Vladimir, since in Tandor, it was illegal for a trainer who wasn't recognised by the Tsukinami Ninja Clan, to own a Volchik or one of its evolutions. One day, he was getting breakfast ready, when his Volchik popped out of his Pokéball. Once he realised that me and Vladimir saw it, he made us promise to keep it a secret." Natasha continued.

"How sad…I guess one of you two told someone by accident." Ame deduced, referring to Natasha and Vladimir.

"That's the thing, neither of us told anyone. It was just a coincidence that the guards at the Championship Site checked all of our Pokémon, to make sure none of them were holding illegal items. When the guards noticed Jonathan's Volchik, they immediately notified the Tsukinami police, whom arrived at the scene quickly. Jonathan glared at us, his feelings a mixture of anger, sorrow, and betrayal. As the police took him away, he made a vow to get revenge on us." Natasha concluded. "That was three years ago, and I have no idea what he's planning."

"Don't worry Natasha, I'll make sure he won't lay a finger on you and Vladimir!" Ame promised, finished her hot chocolate. A few minutes later, Natasha turned off the television.

"Well I'm off to bed, I'll see you tomorrow." Natasha said to Ame, who nodded and proceeded to leave the room, switching off the light.

 **Meanwhile, at Julia's apartment**

Vladimir was tucking himself into Julia's bed, his Pokémon were in their Pokéballs, which were in the miniature healing machine, a device that was given to every Gym Leader, upon receiving their official Gym License. Not much had happened after the two of them had arrived at the apartment. They shared a bag of pretzels, and watched a bit of television, the show they watched was some R-rated movie, that usually airs during this time of night. Once the movie had ended, Julia suggested that Vladimir sleep in her bed. Puzzled by this, Vladimir accepted anyway, and once the two of them went into separate rooms. There, he got into his pyjamas, which consisted of a white singlet, and black cotton boxer shorts. While he was in bed, he pondered onto while Julia had suggested that he sleep in her bed. However a familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Oh Vlaaaaaadie!" Julia called out to him in a sultry tone, as she came out of the bathroom. Vladimir turned to her, only for him to begin blushing like crazy.

Julia was standing in the bathroom doorway, wearing nothing but a yellow lace bra, and matching yellow lace panties. A soft smile was on her face, as she walked over to the bed, and tucked herself in.

"So err…thanks for letting me stay over." Vladimir stammered.

"Teehee, no problem! After all, you did help me punish those evil boomers!" Julia giggled, wrapping her arm around Vladimir, and bringing him closer to her, causing the young man's blush to intensify. "Although they did get away…but on the plus side, that means I get another chance to make them go boom!"

"Yeah, Hehehe. To be honest, I'm not exactly tired at the moment…" Vladimir commented.

"Oh, is that so? Well I have the perfect way to tire us out!" Julia beamed.

"And what could that—"Vladimir began, but was interrupted by Julia kissing him on the lips. A few seconds later, the two of them broke it off.

"Why don't the two of us have some fun…" Julia purred, gently rubbing Vladimir's back.

"Ar-ar-are you sure you want this?! I haven't done this before." Vladimir stuttered. Julia then pondered it for a bit, until she reached a conclusion.

"Don't worry. Everything will be alright." She replied.

 **Lemon time everyone: If you don't like them, then skip it. I'll let you know when it's over. I'll warn you that since this is my first lemon, it may not be the best.**

Julia and Vladimir proceeded to kiss each other gently, their tongues dancing in each other's mouths. Vladimir's fingers gently rubbed Julia's smooth back, occasionally rubbing his fingertip on her silky skin. Julia moaned in response, as she ran her fingers through Vladimir's hair.

"Wow, you're a great kisser." Julia praised, as Vladimir took the initiative, and proceeded to gently kiss her neck. The Gym Leader moaned, as a tingling sensation went through her body. After a few minutes, Vladimir proceeded to unhook her bra, and remove it, revealing her perky B-cup breasts. Vladimir then proceeded to cup Julia's breasts, gently sucking on her left nipple, while tweaking her right nipple.

"Oh Vladdie, that feels so good." Julia moaned in pleasure, her body quivering as if she were in the cold. The cheerleader gripped Vladimir's shoulders tightly, her nails digging in his skin, to the point where they drew a miniscule amount of blood. Vladimir ignored the nails, and proceeded to have his tongue brush up against her hardened nipple, eliciting another moan from Julia. All of a sudden, a cheeky thought entered Julia's mind. Her hand proceeded to reach down Vladimir's boxers, and gently caressed his erect member, causing the young man to moan.

"Oh Julia…" he sighed, as he then proceeded to gently lick her right nipple. Julia's hand picked up the pace with her caressing, her thumb brushing up against his head, as a bit of pre-cum leaked from the head, onto her hand. In response, Vladimir picked up the pace with his licking, as he then used his right hand to tweak her left nipple.

Oh yes…please keep going…" Julia begged, the cheerleader lost in her own little world of pleasure. After a few minutes, Julia moaned loudly, indicating that she had came. The two of them then separated, but Julia wasn't done yet. She lowered her moist panties, and proceeded to gently rub her sweet spot.

"Oh Vladdie…are you ready yet?" she purred, inserting a finger into her vagina, to prepare herself.

"Just give me a few seconds…" he replied, as he lowered his boxers, and took a condom out of his wallet, before opening the packet, and placing his member inside it. Vladimir then proceeded to tease Julia by rubbing his penis against her moist vulva for a few seconds, before gently inserting it into her, eliciting a loud moan from her.

"Oh yes!" she cried out. "Make me go boom!"

Vladimir then laid on his back, enabling Julia to get on top, as he then proceeded to thrust his penis in and out of her. The sensation was unlike anything either of them had ever felt throughout their lives, as waves of pleasure rocked their bodies.

"Am I doing alright Julia?" Vladimir asked, his body shaking slightly due to is heart beating faster.

"Oh yes Vladdie, you're doing exceptionally!" she smiled in response, as she bounced up and down on Vladimir. Julia then leant forward, and began kissing Vladimir, which he returned. A few minutes later, the two of them broke off their kiss, and proceeded to pick up the pace.

"Please make me go boom…" Julia begged, her body shivering from the blissful sensation. Vladimir then proceeded to thrust slightly quicker than before, eliciting a loud moan from Julia. After a few more minutes, the two of them felt a tingling sensation throughout their bodies.

"I'm about to go…" Julia began, before her body reached a climax. "KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" she cried out, as she had her orgasm. Vladimir moaned loudly a few seconds later, as he too had his orgasm. Vladimir then pulled out of her, and proceeded to remove the used condom, before placing it and the empty packet in the bin. As he got back into bed, Julia cuddled up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for tonight…" she said, before drifting off to sleep, with Vladimir doing the same.

 **Lemon's over everyone. You can stop skipping now.**

 **The next morning**

Vladimir had just gotten out of the bathroom, after he had gotten dressed in there, and proceeded to retrieve his Pokémon from the healing machine. He then noticed that Julia was dressed in her usual cheerleader outfit, and was making herself some coffee.

"Mornin' Vladdie. I'd offer you some coffee, but it's all mine!" she replied, as a manic grin was on her face.

"Uhh…that's fine. I wasn't that thirsty anyway." Vladimir replied, sitting down at the table in the dining room. Julia then proceeded to sit down at the table, and began drinking her coffee.

"Mmmmmmm! Just what the doctor recommends." Julia smiled, before turning to face Vladimir. "So Vladdie, are you ready for today's battle?"

"Yes, I'm confident that I can win this." The young man replied.

"I'll warn you, the Gym Leader's here are different then the one's you're used to. For instance, we have a full team of six Pokémon. Additionally, we have individual fields that best suit our teams." Julia explained. "I can't tell you too much though, that'll that the fun out of the challenge."

"It's fine." Vladimir replied. Julia then gulped the rest of her coffee down, surprising the young man.

"OK, OK. Are you ready to face me? Because I am, and I will kick your backside!" Julia asked quickly, her body on a caffeine buzz from the coffee.

"Well I did say yes—"Vladimir began, only to be dragged by the arm by Julia, as she bolted out the apartment door.

 **Neo-Circuit Power Plant**

Vladimir was staring into the distance, rattled from getting pulled by his arm and dragged to the Power Plant. Thankfully Julia was busy opening the door, her fine motor skills slightly hampered due to the caffeine buzz. However, much to Vladimir's surprise, he noticed Natasha walking up to the gym, her Noibat perched on her shoulder.

"Natasha! Didn't you already defeat Julia?" Vladimir asked.

"Well yeah, I just figured I'll watch you. I would have begun to walk towards the Beryl Ward, since the next Gym is there, but to get there, I'll need to pass through the Jasper Ward, and the way there's blocked." Natasha explained. "Besides, I figured seeing you in your first Reborn Gym Battle, would prove to be entertaining." Julia then turned around and spotted Natasha.

"Oh hi there Tashie! You want to battle me again?" Julia asked.

"No thank you, I'm just an audience member this time." Natasha replied, feeding her Noibat a treat from a small bag she had in her hand. Julia then managed to unlock the door to the gym.

"If you're ready to meet your doom Vladdie…then step on in." Julia ushered him in, a grin on her face. Vladimir and Natasha then entered the Gym, as Vladimir's first obstacle in his quest to be the Champion of the Reborn League was looming on the horizon.

 **Neo-Circuit Power Plant: Interior.**

The plant was quite spacious, and was filled with various machines, that circulated the power throughout Reborn City. As far as the eye could see, there were scientists, reading up on research data gathered by the machines, as well as mechanics that checked up on the machines, to see if they were working alright. In stark contrast to the grey machines, the walls were covered in various banners, coloured in shades of Red, Yellow, Blue, Purple, and more.

"Well the place is a lot livelier, I guess…" Vladimir commented.

"Hey, that just goes to show that Julia loves her job." Natasha chimed in.

"And coffee." The young man added, as his eyes locked on a table that had three coffee machines on it, with a set of rules on the wall behind them, detailing on when they can be turned on. The duo then made their way to the large steel door in the back, as it slowly opened, revealing a massive room, that was littered in tiles that were charged with electricity. To the sides were a set of stands for audience members to sit down and watch the battle. On the back wall were several large screens, but they were all off for some reason. Julia was standing in the middle of the field, a confident grin on her face.

"Good luck…you'll need it." Natasha said to Vladimir, as she made her way to the left stand. Vladimir then walked to the centre of the field, stopping when he was a few feet away from Julia.

"Hi there! Welcome to the Super-Duper Ultra-Hyper Electro-Dazzle Happy Boom-Time House of Cheer!" Julia greeted Vladimir.

"I-I wish to challenge you, Julia!" Vladimir declared, a little hesitant about battling a Reborn Gym Leader this early in his journey.

"Don't expect an easy battle, just because you helped us out at the factory, last night. As the former captain of the Onyx School Cheerleaders, I have my honor to defend in battle." Julia stated, as the two of them made their way to their respective ends of the arena.

"OTS, we represent! We pack a punch and don't relent!" Julia called out, while striking a pose.

 **Gym Battle: Vladimir vs Julia**

"Alright Helioptile, I choose you!" Julia called out her first Pokémon. The lizard made a happy chirp, before staring down Vladimir.

"A Helioptile! Look's like this is a job for Murkrow!" Vladimir called out his own Pokémon. The Darkness Pokémon flew around in the air for a bit, before landing on the ground, and stared down at the Helioptile.

"Looks like someone wants to play dangerously!" Julia chimed. "Just don't get to upset when my Pokémon shocks you."

"Heh, I figured that a Gym Leader would know that type advantages aren't the only way to win." Vladimir retorted. The referee then signalled for the match to begin.

"Alright Murkrow! How about we start off with a Pursuit?" Vladimir asked. The Murkrow nodded, and proceeded to dive head first at the Helioptile…which wasn't moving. Vladimir found this very odd, Julia must have a good reason to have Helioptile stay silent. It then dawned on him; he fell for a trap. "Murkrow, get—"

"Use Glare!" Julia cut off Vladimir's orders. The Helioptile began to glare at the charging Murkrow, who became paralyzed with fear. Helioptile then continued with a Charge Beam, striking the Murkrow dead on, sending the dark bird flying. It then landed on the ground with a thump, signifying that it was knocked out. While this was happening, the Helioptile let out a small chirp, as spare electricity from the attack vitalised its body, raising its Special Attack.

"I had a sneaking suspicion that you'd start off with an attack, so I waited until you got close, before I sprang my trap." Julia commented. "Better luck next time~"

This was a disaster for Vladimir; in his recklessness, Murkrow had gotten knocked out, all because of a foolish mistake he made. What shocked him the most was that the Charge Beam was a lot more powerful than it usually was; he glanced at the tiles on the floor, which sparked electricity. Vladimir then realised something, these tiles must've boosted Charge Beam's power. Was this what Julia meant, when she said that every Gym Leader has their own field, which supplements their strategy.

"Murkrow has been defeated. The winner is the Leader's Helioptile!" the referee announced.

"I'm sorry Murkrow…" he apologised, as he returned his fainted Pokémon. "Alright Teddiursa, I have faith in you!" he called out his second Pokémon. He recalled how he first checked its moves, when he caught the Teddiursa. Suffice to say, he was impressed with its moves, with one of them in particular being a surprise to him. Vladimir was in a mood to give Julia a taste of her medicine.

"Alright Teddiursa, use Fury Cutter!" he called out, much to Julia's surprise. Teddiursa's claw glowed brightly, as it charged at the Helioptile and dealt a powerful strike on the lizard, sending it back a few feet.

"Helioptile!" Julia cried out. The lizard managed to get back up, though its body was covered in scratch marks. The glow surrounding Teddiursa's claw shone even brighter. "I didn't even know that it could learn Fury Cutter." Julia commented.

"Well you can't be the only one who has surprises up their sleeves." Vladimir quipped. "Now Teddiursa, why don't you do it again?" Teddiursa nodded and proceeded to charge at the weakened Helioptile. Helioptile attempted to use a second Charge Beam at Teddiursa, but the bear Pokémon managed to dodge it in the nick of time, and land a powered-up Fury Cutter, sending it flying into a wall, before it fell to the ground, knocked out from the attack.

"Helioptile is unable to battle, the winner is the Challengers Teddiursa!' the referee announced.

"Alright!" Vladimir cheered. "We did it!"

"Thanks for your help." Julia replied to her Helioptile, returning it to its Pokéball. "I must say, I'm really enjoying our battle. But my next Pokémon will spell your doom." She called out to Vladimir, as she released her next Pokémon, which was a Blitzle. The zebra Pokémon stared down at its foe, and began kicking the field.

"Since I'm sure you'll stick with your current strategy, I'll have to put a stop to it. Blitzle, use Quick Attack!" Julia ordered. The Blitzle charged at the Teddiursa at blinding speed, before tackling it, sending the Pokémon flying back a few feet, before landing face first on the floor.

"If she wants us to stick to our strategy, then that's what we're going to do. Use Fury Cutter again!" Vladimir called out. The Teddiursa got back up and delivered another powerful Fury Cutter, causing the Blitzle to cry out in pain, as it was sent flying back into the wall. Teddiursa developed a smirk on its face, as the Blitzle wasn't able to get up, the glow surrounding its claw growing even larger.

"Bl-Blitzle is unable to battle. The winner is the Challenger's Teddiursa." The referee called out, a little surprised by Blitzle getting knocked out in one hit.

"Aww phooey!" Julia pouted, returning her Pokémon. "Alright mister, you've crossed the line. Time for you to go boom!" She told Vladimir, as she sent out a Voltorb. The Voltorb glared at the Teddiursa, unnerving it slightly.

"That Voltorb looks menacing. But's it's nothing we can't handle!" Vladimir boasted. "Are you ready Teddiursa?" Teddiursa nodded and proceeded to get into a battle stance.

' _Vladimir, you fool! You're getting overconfident.'_ Natasha mentally scolded her friend. Yes, he was in the lead, but that could all change.

"Alright Teddiursa, how about another Fury Cutter?" Vladimir asked. Teddiursa nodded and proceeded to charge at the Voltorb.

"Rollout Voltorb, don't let that Teddiursa have a chance to strike you!" Julia told her Voltorb, who then proceeded to roll towards Teddiursa at blinding speeds. The ball Pokémon picked up additional charge from the tiles on the floor, as it continued to hurtle towards its opponent. Both Teddiursa and Voltorb struck each other at the same time, causing a large explosion to rock the field, blanketing the field with smoke. Everyone in the room shielded their faces from the smoke, as it filled the room. When the smoke died down, it revealed a weakened, yet standing Teddiursa, and a knocked out Voltorb.

"Voltorb is unable to battle. The winner is the Challenger's Teddiursa!" the referee called out.

"Alright! That's three in a row!" Vladimir cheered, with Teddiursa following suit.

' _I have to do something. I need that Teddiursa to get boom! Desperate times call for desperate measures…'_ Julia thought to herself, returning her Voltorb, before she called out another Voltorb.

"Another Voltorb? No problem! We can defeat it, can't we?" Vladimir asked his Teddiursa, whom nodded and proceeded to use Fury Cutter again.

" _Hehehe, looks like he fell into my trap. Now I need to wait…'_ Julia thought to herself. "Alright Voltorb, wait until your opponent gets close!" she called out. The Voltorb stood there and waited for Teddiursa to get close, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike…and it looks like it got its wish.

"UUUUSSSSSEEEE SELF-DESTRUCT!" Julia called out. The Voltorbglowed harshly, as the Teddiursa got closer and closer.

"Teddiursa, get out—"Vladimir began, but was cut off by a loud explosion that shook the building, and sent smoke billowing everywhere. When the dust settled, everyone could see that both Pokémon were knocked out.

"Both Pokémon appear to be knocked out, the battle is a draw!" The referee called out.

"Thank you Teddiursa for all your hard work." Vladimir said gratefully, as he returned his Pokémon.

"Well done Voltorb! You took out a major threat on your own!" Julia praised her Pokémon, returning it to its Pokéball. "Now then, it's time I stepped up the game~" she chimed as she sent out her Emolga.

"An Emolga? Quite a tricky Pokémon. Looks like its Tynamo's time to shine!" Vladimir called out, releasing his Pokémon. The cute eel spun around in a circle and let out a chirp.

"Tynamo, use Charge Beam to ground Emolga!" Vladimir called out. Tynamo began to charge up a ball of electricity from its mouth, while Julia stood there, a smirk on her face.

"Alright Emolga, use Acrobatics~" the cheerleader chirped. "Strike down that cute little Pokémon!"

Natasha found it a little strange that Julia would order Emolga to use a flying type attack on an electric type Pokémon. She pondered it for a bit, until she spotted Emolga holding a sky blue gem in its hands. When the gem let out a bright light and disappeared, coating Emolga in a sky blue aura, it then dawned on her. Julia was starting things off with the notorious Flying Gem/Acrobatics combo!

The Emolga let out a determined cry, as the gem boosted the power of its attack, before flying towards the Tynamo. It effortlessly dodged the incoming Charge Beam, before dealing a powerful strike to the Tynamo. The Tynamo cried out in pain, as it was sent hurtling to the ground. The Emolga then flew back to its half of the arena, as the sky blue aura disappeared.

"Tynamo!" Vladimir cried out, as his beloved Pokémon struggled to get up. How could that Acrobatics have done that much damage?!

"I take it you were impressed huh? That what you can expect to see from my fellow Gym Leaders!" Julia chimed. "Though I'm amazed that you Tynamo lived through that. It's not often a challengers Pokémon live through my Flying Gem/Acrobatics combo!"

"So that explains why it dealt that much damage…" Vladimir said. "But it looks like your Acrobatics won't hit as hard for the rest of the battle. Use Thundershock!" Tynamo stared down at Emolga and unleashed a weak bolt of lightning from its body, striking the Emolga dead on. The Emolga winced in pain, before it broke out of the Thundershock. Despite a few bruises on its body, it still looked raring to go.

"Go, go, Emolga! If you can't do it, no one can!' Julia cheered, before striking a second pose. "Use Quick Attack!" She called out. The Emolga nodded and proceeded to fly at blinding speeds.

"U-u-use Thundershock!" Vladimir blurted out. Tynamo charged up another lightning bolt and aimed it at Emolga, however the Sky Squirrel Pokémon dodged the attack, and rammed into the Tynamo, sending it flying into the ground again. This time, Tynamo was out for the count.

"Tynamo is unable to battle, the winner is the Leader's Emolga!" The referee called out.

"Return, Tynamo. Take a nice long rest." Vladimir called out, as he returned his Pokémon. "Alright Espurr, it's time for battle!" he sent out his next Pokémon. The Espurr let out a mew, before staring down her opponent.

"Let's start things off with a Light Screen!" Vladimir ordered. The Espurr created a wondrous wall of energy using its psychic powers, granting it additional resistance against Special attacks.

"So you wanna play defensively huh? Two can play that game!" Julia quipped. "Emolga, use Double Team!" Emolga nodded and proceeded to fly around the arena, creating multiple illusions of itself, whom all stared down at Espurr. However Vladimir wasn't worried.

"Double Team, interesting move if I say so…but it won't work on us. Use Confusion, Espurr! Find the real Emolga amongst all the fakes!" The Espurr began concentrating on the herd of enemies, seeking out the real Emolga. It then locked eyes with an Emolga that was flying over Espurr. Espurr's eyes began to glow a bright blue, as Emolga was surrounded in a matching blue aura, causing all of the illusions to disappear. Emolga began to panic, as it was now under the control of Espurr, whom sent it hurtling towards the ground.

"Emolga, get up!" Julia pleaded, but to no avail.

"Emolga is unable to battle, the winner is the challengers Espurr!" the referee called out.

"Alright! One more to go, and we've won our first badge!" Vladimir called out, with Espurr mewing in response.

"I have to admit, this is a really fun battle. But all good things must come to an end. Electrode, time for battle!" Julia called out her ace, as it popped out of the Pokéball, and rolled around the arena, before stopping and began grinning at Espurr.

"Be careful Espurr. Her Electrode is very tough!" Vladimir warned his Pokémon.

"Alright Electrode, use Rollout!" Julia chimed. The Ball Pokémon began rolling at extremely fast speeds, picking up extra electricity from the tiles.

"Quickly Espurr! Use Confusion to slow it down!" Vladimir cried out. Espurr's eyes began to glow blue like before, with Electrode getting surrounded by a blue aura. However, Electrode proved too fast to be stopped, and collided dead on with Espurr. The Espurr cried out in pain, as its tiny body was flying through the air, before it landed on the ground with a thump.

"Espurr is unable to battle, the Leader's Electrode is the winner!" the referee announced.

' _Man, that was powerful.'_ Vladimir thought to himself, as he returned Espurr. "Alright Litwick, you can do this!" he sent out his next Pokémon. The Litwick let out a little chirp, before staring down the Electrode, who continued to roll around at high speeds.

"Litwick, stop that Electrode in its tracks using Confuse Ray!" the young man called out, as the Electrode began hurtling towards Litwick at high speeds. Litwick emitted a glowing orb from the flame on its head, and aimed it at the Electrode. The orb spun around Electrode at high speeds, before exploding into a bright light, confusing the Electrode. The Electrode then began to spin out of control and ran into a wall, breaking it out of its Rollout.

"Oh no, Electrode!" Julia cried out, as Electrode teetered left and right, dizzy from the collision. "I believe in you…break out of confusion and use Charge Beam!" the Electrode shook itself to break out of confusion, and proceeded to fire a beam of electricity at Litwick. Litwick was too surprised at the Electrode breaking out of confusion, to dodge the attack. The Litwick cried out in pain, as it was sent flying by the attack. It then collided with the back wall, damaging one of the screens, before it fell to the ground.

"Litwick is unable to battle. The Leader's Electrode is the winner!" the referee called out.

"Sorry about the monitor, Julia…" Vladimir apologised sheepishly, returning his Pokémon.

"Nah, it's alright. Just make sure your Litwick gets some proper treatment." Julia replied.

"I will, as will all of my fallen friends. But right now, I've got a badge to win. Combusken, time to end this!" Vladimir called out, as his starter materialised on the field.

"Looks like this is it, the final battle. Let's go out with a boom!" Julia called out. "Use Charge Beam!"

"Alright Combusken, I need you to use Focus Energy!" Vladimir called out. Combusken nodded and closed its eyes, as it began taking deep breaths, its body coated in a red aura. Electrode on the other hand, was charging up a beam of electricity. It then proceeded to fire the electricity at Combusken, who was still focusing. However at the last second, Combusken's eyes opened, and dodged the attack in the nick of time. It then ran up to the Electrode, it's legs glowing red, as it proceeded to kick the Electrode, sending it up into the air. Combusken then jumped into the air and delivered a second kick, this one more powerful than the first. Electrode was sent hurtling into the wall behind Julia, whom dodged the incoming Electrode, who then crashed into the wall.

"ELECTRODE!" Julia cried out, a look of concern for her friend. The Electrode then fell to the ground, with swirls in its eyes, and its goofy grin still on its face.

"Electrode is unable to battle. The winner is the Challenger's Combusken! Therefore, Vladimir wins this battle!" the referee announced.

"We did it!" Vladimir cried out in happiness, as he ran up to Combusken to give it a hug. Natasha watched the two of them with a smile on her face.

" _Nice work Vladimir, but you've got a long way to go, if you want to defeat me.'_ She thought to herself.

"Thank you Electrode! You pulled off an amazing last stand." Julia praised her Pokémon, before returning it to its Pokéball. She then walked over to Vladimir, whom was still hugging his Combusken.

"Well congratulations Vladdie, you managed to defeat me. Here's your Volt Badge!" Julia congratulated Vladimir, handing him a yellow badge, shaped like a bolt of lightning, as well as an envelope, most likely containing prize money. "Oh, don't forget this TM. It contains the move Charge Beam." She added, handing him a yellow disc.

"Thanks Julia. I had a lot of fun battling you." Vladimir replied.

"Me too. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take a power-nappy~" the cheerleader chimed, before she walked out of the room. Natasha then walked up to Vladimir, in order to congratulate him.

"Well done! That was a splendid battle." Natasha praised.

"Uh, thank you. Hehehe…" he replied, scratching the back of his head as a faint blush appeared on his face.

"I reckon that we should take a break from training, for the rest of the day. After all, between the training I did, and your battle today, our Pokémon worked really hard." Natasha suggested.

"Good idea." Vladimir responded.

"By the way, where were you last night?" Natasha asked. "I didn't see you at the Pokémon Centre."

"Oh, I and Julia were helping Florinia and Fern investigate a suspicious factory. We found out that it was being used as a front for Team Meteor. We managed to halt their plans, but unfortunately, they got away before we could capture them. After that, Julia offered to let me sleep over at her apartment for the night." The young man recalled. "We watched TV, and shared some pretzels, before we headed off to sleep."

"Did you happen to watch the Tandor Championship last night?" Natasha inquired.

"No, why?" Vladimir asked.

"Our friend Theo won the championship!" the young woman exclaimed.

"That's excellent! I'm glad he's still going strong, despite what he went through…" Vladimir replied.

"Indeed. Last night, I was watching it alongside Ame. I recalled to her about the events in Tandor we went through, including the nuclear disasters. Ame then told me about her experience with a certain person we encountered." Natasha told Vladimir.

"Who was it?" he asked.

"Professor Larkspur." Natasha answered, sending shivers down his spine.

"That's one name I never want to hear again." Vladimir replied.

"From what she told me, Ame handed him some shiny Pokémon, since the two of them were curious about the increase in shiny Pokémon found in the Reborn region. However Larkspur handed them over to Team Rocket instead, for a hefty price." Natasha explained.

"Here's hoping the rangers catch that bastard!" Vladimir replied, his eyes narrowed in rage.

"Indeed. I also happened to tell her about 'him'…" Natasha continued, her voice taking a sombre tone.

"Jonathan? Man, I can't believe it's been so long since we last saw him. I still remember him vowing revenge on his." Vladimir commented.

"I remember as well…" Natasha replied. "Anyway, let's head to the Opal Ward Administration Building. Hopefully there are some rooms left for you by the time we get there." Vladimir nodded, and together, the two of them made their way to the Opal Ward.

 **Later that night**

It was a dark, moonless night in the Peridot Ward, the sky had virtually no clouds, and the stars were twinkling brightly. A lone figure walked alone in the streets. He then stopped for a brief moment, as a sudden light shone upon him, revealing him to be the Meteor Admin. Despite escaping with all of the grunts intact, they made their presence hidden until the coast was clear, enabling their escape.

"When I get my hands on those meddlers, they'll regret crossing us!" he snarled under his breath. He was then drawn to a bright light emanating from a small house. The Admin decided to investigate it, hoping at least one of the meddlers was there. Quietly, he crept up on the house, making sure to not get noticed, before he slowly opened the door, and entered the house, only to be surprised at what he saw.

Sitting on a chair, his back turned towards the door, was a young man, of around 19 years. The man heard the door open and turned to check up on it. The man had short black hair, bright green eyes, fair skin, and was of average build. His outfit consisted of a black business suit, with matching black shoes, and a black fedora. In one of his hands was a black cane with a silver head, which resembled a draconic bird, with a moustache and a pair of lightning bolts on top of its head.

"Can I help you?" The man inquired.

"My bad, I thought you were someone I met earlier." The Meteor Admin explained.

"Oh, you were hoping to talk to one of your Meteor chums?" The man pressed. By now, the Admin's alarms were ringing. This man knew that he worked for Team Meteor; he had to be silenced. As he reached for a Pokéball, the man halted him.

"Let me guess, you're going to kill me, because I know too much?"

"Correct. Now it's time to kill you." The Meteor Admin declared.

"I see. You could do that, or you could listen to my proposal." The man offered. The Admin was intrigued by this man's bravery. Most people would have begged for their lives.

"And what is this proposal you speak of?" The Admin inquired. The man then retrieved two photos from his suit pocket, and placed them on the table. The Admin walked up to the table, and studied the photos, before his eye widened in shock. One of the photos was of the kid with the Combusken whom interfered with his plans, while the other was of a young woman with blond hair.

"These two people have wronged me in a personal way, more than once. I've come here to seek revenge on them. Do you recognise any of them?" the man inquired.

"Yes, that boy was one of the people whom interfered with my plans!" The Admin growled.

"Here's my proposal. I join Team Meteor, and in return, you allow me to deal with these two." The man offered. "And in case you ask, yes, I'm willing to do anything to achieve my goals."

The Meteor Admin thought to himself, this was a trade that certainly benefitted Team Meteor. One look at the guy shows that he's got plenty of skill in Pokémon battles.

"Alright, you're in. Just let me notify my boss, and I'm sure they'll be fine with it." The Admin accepted the offer. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Sirius, an Administrator of Team Meteor."

"A pleasure to meet you Sirius. I'm Jonathan; I'm glad I can be of service." The man introduced himself, as the two of them shook hands.

"Now then, we should leave this place, so I can introduce you to the boss." Sirius commented, as he and Jonathan turned off the light, and exited the house.

 **Well this chapter was** **longer than I expected. Now, a couple things in regard to the Gym Battle.**

 **I checked Bulbapedia to see if Teddiursa can learn Fury Cutter, and apparently, it can learn it via tutoring in Heart Gold/Soul Silver.**

 **I'm not sure if Julia's Emolga held a Flying Gem during the battle, but considering how challenging the Reborn game is, I figured that it wouldn't be out of place.**

 **I do apologise if the battle was written like it was easy, but trust me, the battles will get harder as the story progresses.**

 **If there's anything I can do to improve, then don't hesitate to leave a comment.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 6!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Previously, Vladimir engaged into a thrilling Gym Battle against Julia, which he emerged victorious from, earning him the Volt Badge. Meanwhile Jonathan, a former friend of Vladimir and Natasha, joined Team Meteor, hoping to seek revenge on the duo.**

 **I apologise for the later than usual update, but I got so invested in the recently released Fire Emblem: Heroes game, for Android and IOS. I was really happy when my first 5-hero pull netted me a 5* Takumi, as well as a 3* Nino.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Reborn, it is the property of its creators.**

Opal Ward Administration Building

 **The next morning**

Vladimir had just gotten up after a good night's sleep, and groggily made his way to the shower adjacent to his room. He then turned on the water, and sighed in relief, as the warm water flowed onto his sleek body. The Opal Ward Administration building has their own water filter, capable of purifying even the dirtiest water, however, due to the lack of clean water in Reborn City, there was a 5 minute timer on all showers. Vladimir thought that it was more than enough for him; the fact that there was a bottle of shampoo supplied by the people in charge was an additional bonus. After he had his shower, Vladimir proceeded to dry himself off, before going into his room and changing into his outfit. The staff were even kind enough to give his clothes a wash.

Once he had dried himself and gotten dressed, Vladimir packed his bag and went into the main hall, in order to pick up his Pokémon from the Pokémon doctors. While on the way there, he noticed Natasha slumped over a table. He walked up to her and gently tapped her shoulder, to see if she was alright, only for the young woman to bolt upright in her seat.

"Hu-Huh?! I'm awake!" she blurted, tidying up her hair, before turning to Vladimir.

"Uhhh sorry…." He apologised.

"Was I asleep…? I remembered planning on taking a little rest, before getting changed and heading off to my room, but I must have dozed off here." Natasha explained.

"Did you sleep comfortably?" Vladimir joked, resulting in his shoulder getting punched lightly by Natasha.

"Very funny…" she replied. Just then, Ame walked up to the duo, carrying a tray containing six Pokéballs in each hand.

"Here's your Pokémon, you two." Ame said, a smile on her face.

"Thank you!" Natasha and Vladimir replied, gratefully retrieving their Pokémon from the trays.

"Natasha told me about your battle with Julia yesterday." Ame told Vladimir.

"Oh yeah, how'd I do?" he asked, eager to hear from the Reborn Professor.

"Considering that you have your badge, you obviously did well. However, I also heard that you got cocky midway through the battle." Ame noted.

"Well err…I was excited about the fact that my Teddiursa knew Fury Cutter." Vladimir replied sheepishly.

"You can't let your guard down, even for a second. The Reborn League isn't as easy as all the other leagues you participated in." Ame scolded him, in an attempt to help.

"I understand." Vladimir said. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"That's the right thing to do; understanding your flaws and working to improve them." The Reborn Professor commented, a smile on her flawless face. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to check up on Florinia's report on the factory investigation." As Ame walked back to her office, Natasha turned to Vladimir.

"You want to head to the Obsidia Ward? I heard reports of suspicious people in the park." She offered.

"Uhh…sure!" Vladimir blurted. The two of them then exited the Administrative Building, and made their way to the Obsidia Ward Entrance.

 **Obsidia Ward Entrance**

The two teenagers were about to enter the ward, but they were halted by a police officer.

"I'm sorry, but I was ordered to prevent strangers from entering the ward." The officer informed the duo. "There's been reports of plant life growing rapidly, causing millions of dollars in damages, as well as hundreds of casualties."

"We can help you investigate officer." Vladimir offered, only to get knocked back.

"You offer is appreciated, but we can't accept it. This is a matter that has been tasked to the police." The officer replied. Just then, Florinia had exited the Administrative Building and noticed the commotion, before walking up to the trio.

"Officer, I suggest you reconsider your stance." Florinia told them in an emotionless voice.

"You mean you trust them?" The officer inquired.

"Vladimir provided useful assistance in the factory investigation, and Natasha has demonstrated her prowess in battle during our gym battle. I suggest an exception be made for these two." Florinia continued. The officer then turned to Natasha and Vladimir.

"Alright then, if the Onyx Ward Gym Leader trusts your ability, then I have no choice but to let you through." The officer said, moving out of the way.

"Thank you Florinia." Natasha thanked the Gym Leader.

"Situation analysis: An unknown force has recently begun continual engagement in the over-stimulation and manipulation of malignant flora life." Florinia explained. "Objective: Isolate and eliminate the source of the extraneous growth immediately." She then walked into the ward to carry out her objective.

"You got all that?" Vladimir turned to Natasha, a baffled look on his face.

"Yep, she wants us to deal with the out of control plants plaguing the ward." She replied, as the two then entered the ward.

 **0000**

The two of them entered the ward and survey the scene. It was like something out of a post-apocalyptic movie, with several building destroyed, their empty shells riddled with thick vines, which draped the ruins. There was also tall plants growing out of the pavement in the city, leaving large cracks everywhere. As far as the eye can see, laid the deceased bodies of people and Pokémon, with their loved ones grieving over their loss. Elsewhere, survivors were in a desperate hurry to bring injured citizens to the Obsidia Ward Hospital, which was spared in some sort of bleak miracle. The scene hit the two teenagers hard; Natasha in particular, as she was here a week ago, and none of this chaos had occurred. She shuddered to herself, wondering what could have happened, had she'd stayed in the ward a day or two longer. Vladimir was utterly speechless, he'd seen death a couple of times before, especially with the train station bombing, but this was on an entirely different scale.

"Well, where do we begin?" He asked.

"Why don't we temporarily split up and investigate the shops over there?" Natasha pointed to a row of shops that was to the west of their current position. "You check the beauty parlour, I'll check the candy store. Ok, let's go!" the teenage girl dashed off to the candy shop, leaving Vladimir scratching his head.

"Uhh…alright then." He said to himself, as he entered the beauty parlour.

With Vladimir

The beauty parlour was a lot cleaner than Vladimir expected a beauty parlour in a ruined city to be. The bright green walls were covered in posters, detailing ways to maximize your friendship with your Pokémon. Vladimir was stuck on who to ask about the plant situation, until he locked eyes with a pretty young lady, with short green hair, and wore a white long-sleeve shirt and pants.

"Hi there!" The lady greeted. "How can I help you?"

"Yeah, you know anything about the plants growing in the city?" Vladimir asked politely.

"I don't unfortunately. All I know is that there were some people dressed in a greyish-black jumpsuit, acting suspiciously in the Obsidia Park." The lady replied.

"Thanks." Vladimir replied.

"Don't mention it." She smiled. "By the way, how well do you treat your Pokémon?"

"I'd say I treat them well, why'd you ask?" He inquired.

"Most trainers these days don't seem to put the proper care into raising their Pokémon…" She replied, her voice having a sad tone to it. "I would like to see how well you raise them."

"Alright then, come on out everyone!" Vladimir sent out all his Pokémon, whom chirped and cried happily.

"This'll take a few minutes…" the parlour worker commented, carefully analysing Vladimir's Pokémon. She checked their temperature, studied their posture, and did several other tests, to see if they were in tip top shape. Once she had done the analysis, she asked Vladimir to return them, which he did.

"Well from what I can see, you're doing much better than your average trainer. But there's room for improvement." The lady noted. "What are you feeding them?"

"Ah, that's easy." Vladimir commented, bringing out the PokéSnax from his bag. The parlour worker took the bag and studied it closely. "I found the problem."

"Huh? What did I do wrong?" the teenage boy inquired.

"These snacks; while the do make your Pokémon very happy, they're not the healthiest." She answered. "You need to give them less of this, and more organic Pokéfood."

"I see…" Vladimir replied. "Am I able to buy some here?"

"Sure thing!" the lady smiled, grabbing a bag from the shelf, and running it through the scanner.

"Thanks." Vladimir replied, handing over the required payment,

"Have a good day!" she smiled, accepting the payment.

"You too!" Vladimir called out, exiting the shop.

With Natasha

The sweet shop was a complete feast for the eyes. Both the walls and the floor were multi-coloured, bringing some much needed life to the otherwise dull ward. The shelves were stock full of delicious treats and candies, all ranged at affordable prices. Natasha's eyes sparkled; despite eating healthily, she gets the occasional craving for sugar.

"Wow…I don't know where to start." Natasha commented to herself, her eyes scanning the various shelves, as she picked up a shopping basket. She then walked up to the shelves, and surveyed the delectable sweets for sale.

' _Peppermint, Chewing Gum, Chocolate bars, Gummy bears. This place has it all!'_ Natasha thought to herself. Without the slightest hint of hesitation Natasha grabbed whatever she wanted, and place them in the basket, before walking over to the cash register. The cashier operator had a surprised look on his face, as he saw all of the candy Natasha was planning to purchase.

"Hosting a party?" the cashier attempted to engage in small talk.

"Err yeah…I'm having a party with some friends of mine." Natasha lied, scratching the back of her head. Once the cashier had scanned all the items, he then added all the totals, and placed them inside a plastic bag.

"Alright, that'll be $55." He told her. Natasha got the required amount in cash, and handed it over. "Thank you for your purchase. Since your purchase was over $30, here's a free token for the ice-cream vending machine in the back."

"Thanks!" Natasha took the token and her goods, before walking to the back of the store, and waiting in line at the vending machine. Once it was her turn, she read the list detailing what ice-cream was available, before settling for a Vanilla ice cream. Inserting the token into the slot, Natasha put in the letter/number combination for Vanilla ice cream, before turning the dial. A faint _thunk_ could be heard, as the ice cream fell into the tray at the bottom. Natasha retrieved the ice cream, and proceeded to make her way outside. Once outside, she prepared to take a bite from it, only to jump back in shock as the ice cream grew a pair of eyes and a mouth, and floated out of her hand.

"What the—?!" she said to herself, as the now sentient ice cream began looking into Natasha's eyes.

" _Vanillite_ " the ice cream chirped.

"Oh, you're a Vanillite huh? Why don't you come along with me?" Natasha offered, pulling an empty Pokéball from her bag. The Vanillite stared at the spherical device for a bit, before chirping happily and pressing the button, entering the ball. Natasha then clipped the Pokéball on her belt, and proceeded to snack on a packet of Gummi Bears she bought. Just then, Vladimir exited from the beauty parlour, carrying the bag of Pokémon food he bought. His eyes glanced upon the bulging shopping bag his friend was carrying, before they noticed the packet of Gummi Bears.

"Can I have some?" Vladimir asked, only for Natasha to bring the Gummi Bears close to her chest.

"No. Go get your own!" she answered bluntly. All of a sudden, Vladimir's Litwick and Natasha's Vanillite got out of their Pokéballs, and surveyed the scene.

"Where'd you get the Vanillite?" Vladimir inquired, watching the two Pokémon stare at each other.

"Funny story. After I bought myself some treats, the cashier gave me a token to use on an ice cream vending machine. I inserted the token, and chose a vanilla ice cream, and I got this little cutie instead." She explained, looking at the two Pokémon that were playing. "By the way, how did you find your Litwick?"

"It was during the raid on the factory. I and Julia were engaging in some small talk, when she noticed it floating around. I offered it a snack, and it was more than happy to tag along with me." Vladimir informed her.

"I see—hey, what's that over there?" Natasha began, but was suddenly distracted by an odd sight. Vladimir turned around, and noticed a Vulpix entering the Underground Railnet.

"Huh, what's it searching for?" He inquired, following the small Pokémon, with Natasha tagging along.

 **Underground Railnet**

The former subway was what you'd expect from an abandoned facility. The area was covering in a blanket of darkness, the only audible sound being the faint dripping of water onto the cracked pavement. The walls were covered in dirt and grime, and was also riddled with cracks. A foul smell wafted the area, yet it could not be discerned.

"This place has definitely seen better days." Natasha commented, bringing out a torch in an attempt to light the path in front of them.

"What I want to know is why Vulpix is down here." Vladimir asked himself. The duo resumed searching for the Vulpix, carefully avoiding any puddles and bits of debris that covered the floor. Eventually the duo found the small fox Pokémon, sniffing the ground, though for what reason, neither of them knew.

"Mind if you check up on it? As you can see, my hands are fairly full at the moment." Natasha asked Vladimir. He nodded and proceeded to walk up to the Vulpix.

"Hey there, you want something to eat?" he asked, crouching down and offering it a snack. The Vulpix sniffed the air in the direction of Vladimir, before proceeding to walk towards him. However, a loud screeching noise, similar to a set of gears grinding against each other, emanated from the darkness. A few seconds later, a large Klinklang appeared from the darkness, and screeched loudly at the people whom intruded on its territory. The Vulpix let out a scared cry, as it began to walk backwards. Yet it did not go unnoticed by the mechanical, as it began to approach the young Vulpix. Eventually, the Vulpix was backed against a wall, and stared at the Klinklang in absolute fear.

"Leave it alone!" Vladimir called out, sending out his Teddiursa. The small bear Pokémon stared down its adversary, as it turned to face it.

"Let's start things off by weakening it, use Baby Doll Eyes!" the young man called out. Teddiursa's eyes began to sparkle, as it stared at the mechanical monstrosity standing before it, in an attempt to lower its Attack. However the Klinklang was unaffected by the attack, and fired a powerful flare of electricity everywhere, dealing major damage to Teddiursa.

"Oh no!" Vladimir gasped, as his Pokémon fainted from the powerful attack. He recalled his Pokémon, and sent out his Litwick. "Now use Ember!" The candle Pokémon fired a stream of small fireballs from the flame on its head, scoring a direct hit on the Klinklang. The gear Pokémon winced in pain from the super-effective attack, but other than that, it showed no sign of relenting, proceeding to use Discharge again. Luckily Litwick managed to dodge the attack, and fired another Ember at the enemy Pokémon. This time, the Klinklang let out a large screech, as the attack burnt its body.

"Alright, this should even the fight out a little." Vladimir mused to himself. But he would get a second surprise, as Litwick's eyes began to glow a harsh purple, and glared at the Klinklang, causing it intense pain, before it fell to the ground, too exhausted to continue fighting.

"Hex? I don't recall your Litwick learning Hex." Natasha called out.

"Me neither." Vladimir replied, as he thanked his Litwick before returning it to its Pokéball. The young man then checked up on the frightened Vulpix, gently petting it and feeding it a few treats.

' _This Vulpix doesn't seem like a wild Pokémon. Perhaps it got separated from its trainer in the ensuing chaos.'_ Vladimir thought to himself, when his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a Pokéball clicking in the turned to the source and noticed Natasha picking up a Pokéball over the spot where the Klinklang fell.

"I couldn't just leave it there, can I?" She explained.

"Makes sense." Vladimir replied. "We should check the Pokémon Center to see if someone's missing their Vulpix." The young woman agreed with the decision, as the two proceeded to leave the dark subway.

 **Sorry for the long wait, but hopefully you like this chapter. It was a filler chapter, and a bit short yes, but the next one should advance the plot quite nicely.**

 **If there's anything I can do to improve, then don't hesitate to leave a comment.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 7!**


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